The Division
by Dawn Bently
Summary: After war leaves the Wizarding World in shambles, the three Potter siblings must make decisions about love and family, and stick to them no matter the cost. Of course, some decisions are more difficult than others. Scorpis/Lily, Lily/OC, James/OC, Rose/OC
1. Chapter 1

She didn't look her best in the dreadful color of black, but it was unfortunately the color of the trade. Bearing with it as best she could, Lily pulled her dark red curls into a tight bun resting at the back of her head. She could remember a time when her hair had beautiful youthful and healthy curls but over the course of this seemingly never ending war, her hair had become flat and almost lifeless. She swore she could hear a few strands breaking as she tied her hair back. After securing the locks out of her way, she straightened her black dress and put her coat over her shoulders, buttoning the top few buttons so that it stayed in place.

Most of the other women waited in their chambers for their male escorts to come for them, but Lily Potter was unlike all the other women. In fact, she different from nearly everyone in the large, imposing building, but she had yet found cause to release the full force of her power. As she opened the heavy door of her room, she stepped out into the hall, and let the door crash shut behind her. The sound echoed, bouncing off of every piece of dark, depressing furniture in the corridor, but she turned and walked down the narrow hall as though it had been silent. She knew the other men were behind her, watching her, but only a select few had ever really approached her. Lily was openly on their side of the struggle, but it did not make her any more approachable or less frightening.

As she passed the door nearest to the staircase, her brother exited the room and she paused to wait for him. He, too, was of course dressed in black, but Lily felt the men's clothing were far more modest than the women's. It was not as though a strict dress code was enforced, but wearing bright and bubbly colors renders one's opinion as useless. Of course, wearing a dress, no matter how dark the color, that did not show at least some exciting skin, rendered the same effect on her part. It was just another challenge Lily was forced to overcome as a women in a world dominated by men.

"Are you ready?" Albus asked his only sister but was careful not to sound too concerned. Their allegiance was first to the Division, and perhaps then to their family ties. Lily did not answer, but he saw the lack of anything in her eyes. There was no happiness, nor was there sadness. Lily had long ago given up any attachments to emotions. In their positions, emotions made everything more difficult. Albus nodded slightly as he put his hand to the small of her back as they descended the stairs side by side. The other men in the hallway followed a few steps behind them, slightly envious of Albus at the proximity to Lily he was granted. No other man even dared to be within arm's reach of the woman, let alone in proximity of her wand point.

In somewhat of a line, Lily and the many men filed into a long dining hall and took their assigned seats. They had been prearranged by rank and slowly, one could move up through the ranks, but it was a fairly difficult task to undertake. After all, only one person could sit at the right hand of Christopher Adler, self proclaimed leader of the new world he sought to bring about. Some number of years ago his previous right hand man had met his unfortunate demise and a new person was picked to fill the new role. Nobody had expected it to be Lily Potter. Nobody expect Lily and Albus, of course.

As Albus took his seat near the middle of the table, Lily continued to the end to sit on the right side of the head of the table. Slowly the many seats filled, and eventually a man entered the room from the opposite side everyone else had entered through. All the men, including Albus, rose their feet rather quickly, but Lily took her time as she finished sipping from her wine glass. She gently set it back on the table top, before she began to rise to her feet as well. By the time she had stood, Chris had already reached the head of the table and his lifeless gray eyes had fallen on her. The men of the room had bowed their heads out of respect and reverence, but Lily held her hand out to him.

With a smirk and perhaps amusement, Chris took her delicate fingers in his hand and lowered his lips to the back of her hand. "My love," He greeted her in his deep voice and Lily only smiled back at him. He hadn't known her all her life and as a result he could never recognize the forced nature of her smiles. To Lily and Albus, it didn't matter. So long as Chris loved her, she was safe. By association, he was too. Albus did not have the same level of safety, but what little was guaranteed was greatly accepted.

"Shall we begin?" Lily's voice hadn't lost its life the way her hair and eyes had. Instead, Lily's voice could mimic a wide variety of emotions and tones, only one of which was love and romance. Albus hoped that she wasn't always mimicking and did still feel something every once in a while, but he was never daring enough to voice his thoughts on the matter.

"Yes, "Chris agreed and turned his gaze to the rest of his men and released Lily's fingers. She gracefully slipped into her seat while the men clumsily sat down around her. Food was brought in by young men and women, all of whom had been taken captive through battle of some sort. As with any other meal or meeting, or any time those attendants, as Chris referred to them as, were in her presence, Lily kept her eyes casted downward to her plate and glasses. Nobody knew of the turmoil within her, but that was simply part of her, both parts of her. All of her life, she had been very capable of hiding things away from the public, and life in the Division gave her all the practice she needed to perfect that skill.

Of course, that was not the only skill Lily had been blessed with. Lily was an exceptional witch, unmatched by any other in the Division and despite Chris' faint but present division of the sexes, Lily held her own against a good majority of the men around her. There was one other skill Lily possessed as well, but was not one she held alone. If Potters and Weasley's were good at anything at all, it was survival.

Lily's position was not one she favored but in the war stricken wizarding world, it gave her protection. If she were to visit the bed of any man, it might as well be the man untouched by the crumbling Ministry and terrorizing the Wizarding world without consequence. Albus was given some protection through her. It had been years since the Division had gained any real power, and as such, it had been quite some time since the pair had been in touch with their family. Nonetheless, James, Rose, and Hugo all have survived the many years under oppression at Chris Adler's hand.

Lily and Albus have never understood how it was possible, but they are never surprised when news of Chris' raids return and their beloved brother and cousin are not among the dead or wounded. James has often lead attacks against the Division, and has come far too close to Chris than he cares for, but the two strong men never seem to fall to one another. As such, James remained at the top of Chris' enemies. James was to be killed on sight at all costs. He's never so much as touched.

While James is the face of the revolution against the ruling power of the Division, Rose is the mastermind behind it all. Chris knew so little of Rose Weasley that she hasn't become of interest to him yet. He doesn't understand that James' skilled spells are his own but his clever tactics are the work of a former Ravenclaw cousin.

As for Hugo, Lily's only cousin her age, a place in the battle fronts did not sit well with his tender heart. Instead, he kept all the revolutionaries in as good of health as he could. Of course, as soon as they stopped bleeding they ran off to be wounded again. As such, Hugo was kept busy and was constantly protected. Keeping the head of their infirmary safe was a main concern and a well founded idea on James' part.

Though not a Weasley or Potter by blood, Scorpius Malfoy seemed to share the ability to survive with the family that nearly raised him. He wasn't nearly as lucky as James in the battle fronts, but in one of Chris' many prisons, Scorpius has outlived the life expectancy of any prisoner not granted life as a servant. Killing him useless, but Chris has kept his alive expecting a time where the Malfoy's life will prove to be a useful bargaining asset. As such, Scorpius remains barely fed, just enough to keep him breathing, in a place Lily and Albus have no knowledge of. Perhaps it's best they don't and they're allowed to continue in their positions as loyal followers to Chris and the Division, without any lingering thoughts of releasing him and aiding in his escape. Lily knows better than anyone that if there was one person willing to risk everything to rescue him, it was her, and if anybody would ever help her in such a suicidal task, it was Albus. It was arguable that nobody loved him more than the pair who could nothing to save him.


	2. Chapter 2

Throughout the meeting, Lily remained quiet as she usually did. Albus was fairly vocal as he usually was, and nothing was out of the ordinary about the Potters. As per usual, Chris discussed future attacks. He wanted definite answers from his various sources and advisors about locations, times, and tactics. Though Lily did not actively participate in these discussions, she always actively listened for every detail. Most of the time the details were not needed, but Lily wasn't a woman who was willing to be unprepared should anything happen. As such, she made it a priority to know as much as she could at any given time.

Eventually, the dinner meeting came to a conclusion and the men started to disband. Chris rose to his feet and took a few steps away from the table. Before following him, Lily lifted her wine glass from the table and held it between her fingers as she stood beside him. A few lingering men approached Chris as they always did after official meeting with various questions or comments concerning one topic or another. Albus had approached Lily and she took a step away from Chris to speak to him.

"How do you feel?" Albus asked. It was the most brotherly he had been to her in months and Lily found she had missed the tone no matter how faint it was. She knew what he was talking about, but neither were foolish enough to ever say it aloud, especially in the presence of Chris and any number of his followers.

"Well enough," Lily answered with a softly smile, her voice also carrying a light hearted and hopeful tone Albus hadn't heard from her in the same length of time. Albus only nodded before he started to lean in to press his lips against her cheek. Lily would've accepted the affection kiss, but had quickly turned to her right, her hand pulling her wand from inside her coat in the process. Albus had frozen at her sudden movement, but as he turned to the side, he saw a man at the end of Lily's wand, eyes wide and frozen in a state of fear.

Chris had turned as well, and immediately came to Lily's side, knowing she pulled her wand only when necessary or when she was tense or paranoid. "What is it, Lily?" Chris' voice was harsh, but his voice rarely took on any other tone.

"Your bracelet, milady." The man finally managed to speak as he held his hand up. Without lowering her wand, Lily peered into his open palm to find her silver bracelet. "You have taken it off during dinner and forgotten it at the table."

Lily let out a breath as she stepped back and lowered her wand. Her shoulders relaxed as she nodded and Albus reached for the necklace. "Thank you," Lily told the man simply and he nodded gently before he stepped back from the three.

"You are far too tense, my love." Chris said in a softer tone. Albus had heard him speak that way only a few time and it was only ever in the presence of his lover. Unfortunately he had a habit of going through them rather quickly. As though a miracle had fallen upon the pair, Chris hadn't replaced Lily after the standard time period of one lover had passed. "Perhaps you are in need of a relaxing time."

"Yes," Lily agreed as she felt his hands grasp at her waist and slowly pulled her towards him.

"Good night, my lord." Albus said as he nodded respectfully to Chris. He returned the gesture vaguely, but kept the majority of his attention on Lily's hair which he could not wait to undo and pull from its perfection. "Lily," Albus turned to her and she nodded gently. Albus reached for her hand and placed the bracelet into her palm, but did not let go immediately after she had taken hold of it. "Good night."

"Good night." She responded softly before she turned with Chris to exit the dining hall through his private door. Two other men followed behind the pair, serving as Chris' constant protection. Lily's nature doubted their loyalty, but she never voiced any opinions she had of that nature. She was much better at surviving than to make such a grave mistake.

The pair of guards followed the couple down a hallway before they stopped at the double doors which marked Chris' private bedchamber, and the two entered alone. Almost immediately after the doors shut behind them, Chris' hands found Lily's narrow waist and his lips neared her ears and cheek. She angled her head to the side and allowed him more space to trace his lips along her skin.

As his kisses started, Lily's mind began to wander as it always did. In the beginning of their affair she had doubted how she would be able to allow him access to her body, and as a result, the beginning of their "relationship" had very little physical contact. She didn't know for sure, but Lily wondered if that had been part of the reason she had lasted so long as Chris' lover. She knew she was unlike all the other women because she was not nearly as predictable as they were. Of course, if anybody knew of her true thoughts and feelings, she'd be killed instantly and probably at the hand of the man who claims to love her.

Nonetheless, Lily removed the thought of Chris from her mind as she took in the feel of his hands moving around her waist and pulling her against his body. She let out a ragged breath as his kisses continued down her neck. As he neared the strap of her dress, one hand slid up her side to reach for the zipper on her back.

Eventually, Chris had moved them to his large accommodating bed, and Lily followed him, allowing him to touch and kiss her as he pleased. To Lily, it wasn't all bad to be the newest name on a long list of lovers, knowing it did at least provide the perk of satisfaction. Along with that, Lily was perfectly free to kiss him and run her fingers through his dark brown hair as best she could. He often did something to it that made the strands stiff and stuck together. It hardly mattered to Lily because in her mind his gray eyes were shining and his hair consisted of soft blonde curls. So long as his name never passed her lips, Chris was blissfully unaware of the traitorous nature of his beloved girlfriend.

**X**

James was breathing heavily as he attempted to catch his breath but with no luck. He clutched his wand in one hand and held a dirty cloth to his open wound with the other. Beside him were his most trusted friends and brothers-in-arms. They too had suffered wounds, but only the worst were being treated at the moment, leaving James and the others to wait their turn.

In the safety of the underground portion of the old Ministry building, James had spent years building up the revolution against the Division. He has had some victories but the over whelming power of the Division had proven difficult to over throw without power to match it. Finding supporters of his cause was easier than he expected, but not many supported the oppression the Division had created anyway. The real obstacle James faced was finding those skilled and brave enough to actually support their cause against the Division. Most were happy fleeing for some far off land and living quietly for the rest of their days. James, of course, did not have this mentality.

"How far did you get?" Rose asked immediately as she neared the row of injured men. She held a muggle clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. They had discovered muggle paper was easier to write on and transport than parchment, and pens did not require ink wells.

"I could see the walls." James answered simply with a shrug as he peered up at Rose. No matter how clever their attacks were, they never happened the way they wanted them to. The problem did not lay in the planning of the attack but rather in the numbers. James knew they were always outnumbered and there was little he could do to fix that.

"Stone bricks?" Rose asked.

"Like Hogwarts." James answered. "No idea what's on the other side, though."

"That's alright." Rose responded. "We can still attack it the same way Azkaban was attacked."

"What twenty years ago?" James replied.

"Closer to thirty-five." Rose corrected but James did not respond. Instead, he turned his attention to his wound and checked to see if the bleeding had slowed at all. "Voldermolt's people had attacked from the air."

"You want to take a page out of Voldermolt's book?" James replied sharply and met her gaze. Rose's face remained straight and neither said anything. Rose knew what it implied, but James knew there were no other choices. Factoring in that Voldermolt's tactic was successful, no matter how long ago, it seemed to be a better idea, especially considering there were no other ideas to rival it.

"We'll need to get a hold of a few good brooms." Rose said.

"I have one." James replied but Rose shook her head.

"Don't take that one, James." Rose said, but her voice had changed. It wasn't quite as businesslike as it usually was when they discussed tactics. Instead Rose was concerned for her cousin and perhaps for the sentiments which accompanied James' broom.

"It was my father's."

"I know." Rose nodded. "It's outdated, James."

"It's the fastest."

"Don't take it." Rose repeated and James gave up on arguing with her. "I'll worry about the brooms. You need to pick some riders."

"How many?" James asked and Rose peered at the sketch of one of the many prisons built and operated by the Division. To James, the Division and Christopher Adler had gained far too much power. His control had over thrown the Ministry and taken the Ministry's duties into their power as well including deeming citizens as criminals and imprisoning them for their "crimes."

"Ten should be a good team." Rose decided as she peered back at her cousin. James only nodded in response and Rose passed him to approach the other wounded men beside him. "Where is Thomas?" She asked curiously as her eyes passed over the five men.

Instead of an answer, her question was met by silence. Rose only nodded as she swallowed. It was best not to explicitly hear the words, and she knew what the answer was anyway. "Ok," Rose said softly, the outcome obviously affecting her, but she was determined not to lose her focus. She nodded again as she shifted her eyes away from the men and started to walk past them so that she could go into the next room where Hugo and the other Healers were treating the severely wounded.

"Hey," One of the men called as he reached out and grabbed Rose's arm. She turned back and peered down at the man, recognizing his warm hazel eyes. His hand was bloody and left a bloody hand print on her skin, but Rose hardly noticed as she stared at her fellow revolutionary. "There's always a chance."

Rose nodded again as she held his gaze. She was tired of those words. She hated hearing them and the only thing worse than hearing them was saying them. She hated to be the one giving bad news especially when there was so little good news to go around. On the other side, Rose wasn't near as talented at receiving bad news that affected her so personally, either. Perhaps that was why those simple words seemed like such a burning lie in that moment.

"Were you older than him, Edward?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I'm three years older." He answered softly as he nodded.

"What happened?" Rose wasn't sure if she really wanted the answer, but the question moved from the back of her mind to her lips faster than she could stop it.

"He saved me." Edward admitted and Rose saw the guilt that flashed passed his face in that moment. She understood the tremendous guilt he must've felt, but she couldn't imagine it. She turned away from him for a moment to stare at the curtain which divided the room. On the other side she knew her little brother was more or less safe. He never saw battle first hand, only it's deadly after math. Nonetheless, Hugo remained in far less danger than perhaps anyone else in the rundown, converted building. She could not imagine how it was possible to carry around a possible death knowing it was to save her, let alone a death of a sibling.

"He loved you." Rose said simply, and before Edward could return the consolation, Rose walked away and entered the next room. Edward watched her walk away, and did not turn back to James until the curtain had fallen and divided the room once more.

"Just let it be." James advised as he looked to Edward and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to ease the loss even just a little. "She's not like us."

"She's probably stronger than all of us together." Edward replied, sincerely meaning the comment. James only nodded before he let out a dry laugh.

"I wouldn't put too much stock in how she appears to take the news." James explained. "She's good at keeping things together in front of you, but nobody can stay together the way she tries. Not even her."

"How well did they know each other?" Edward asked and James met Edward's gaze.

"They were close. He wanted a bit more than she did, but she still cared about him. Probably her only friend still around her." James answered and Edward nodded, allowing a faint smile to cross his lips. It seemed love, even just a piece of it or unreturned, was all they could hope for before their certain death. Though devastated by the loss, Edward did find comfort in the idea that Thomas had the thought of a beautiful woman in his mind during his last moments. Of course, there was no way to know for certain who was alive and who was dead. All they knew for certain was who was able enough to return. Those left behind might've been killed or imprisoned. Rose, James, and the rest of the revolutionaries had yet to figure out which was worse.


	3. Chapter 3

"I want to form another group," Chris declared as he entered the small library where he had summoned the most talented of his followers. The chatter in the room died out almost immediately as all eyes turned to Chris in the doorway. His two guards remained behind him, but close enough to interfere should his life be threatened in anyway.

Near the fireplace on the other side of the room, Lily kept her eyes on the page she was reading and did not peer up at Chris until she had finished. Only then did she rise to her feet and bow her head slightly, though it was barely noticeable. Across from her, Albus sipped dark wine from his glass, keeping his eyes on Lily for a moment before he turned to Chris as well. He was gauging their relationship, wanting to know when he needed to start fending for himself in the harsh world he and Lily had found themselves caught up in.

"Why?" Lily responded through the silence when no one else was daring enough to do so.

"To carry out the tasks which are too sensitive for me to entrust to anyone else." Chris answered as he neared Lily. He slipped his fingers around her hand before he turned to other men who had gathered around the pair.

"Do you have a task in mind of is this preparations for the future?" Albus asked, and Chris shifted his gaze to him.

"I have one in mind." Chris answered vaguely before he glanced over all the men in the room. "I don't need you." He said as he rose his hand to a man standing near Albus. "And you may leave as well." He added as he dismissed another. After a few more eliminations, only five, including Lily and Albus, remained in the room. "Yes, this is a good group."

"What is that you need of us?" A man Albus and Lily knew as Damien asked. He was tall, much taller than Albus, and larger as well. Unfortunately, his brute force was his only talent, but neither Albus nor Lily would ever point it out. They simply allowed Chris to think what he pleased.

"I want you to carry out an attack." Chris answered as he peered at the four men then his eyes fell on Lily. "On the old Ministry building."

Lily felt her stomach drop at the words, but her discomfort did not show on her face, nor did it on Albus'. The men, including Damien, stared at Chris with confusion. James had done an exceptional job at concealing his headquarters in plain sight keeping its location as secret as possible.

"Sir, do you think that is necessary?" One of the other men asked. He was smaller than Damien, and closer to the size of Albus, and instead of relying on intimidation, he possessed skill. He wasn't nearly as athletic as Lily and Albus, and therefore could not match their speed and agility, but he certainly could match them with spells and power.

"Do you doubt me, Ethan?" Chris asked in a somewhat of a teasing manner. When no answer came, Chris laughed as he walked to one of the oversized arm chairs, pulling Lily with him. As he sat, he pulled Lily to his lap and allowed her to settle against his body before he peered up at the men. They had taken steps closer to Chris and surrounded the couple.

"Rumor has it Potter is running his operations out of the underground floors of what used to be the Ministry building." Chris answered.

"Did a prisoner tell us?" Damien asked.

"A spy." Chris answered.

Lily kept her eyes casted downward, but Albus was focused on Chris and appeared as interested in the new piece of information as the other men. Of course, the revelation was not new to the siblings, but they could not afford to act accordingly.

"You want us to attack or verify?" Sander rose an eyebrow at Chris, already enjoying his new assignment.

"I want Potter dead." Chris answered strongly. He was perfectly aware of Lily and Albus' connection to James, but the two had long ago made it clear they did not identify with James as a brother. At least that had been what they had convinced him of. Chris was not talented enough in the art of reading people to known Albus and Lily had spun a well told lie and were capable of upholding it to death. To Chris the words were perfectly acceptable and he couldn't so much as guess at the stinging they caused in the hearts of the siblings.

"Just him?" Damien wanted clarification and Lily's eyes turned up to him.

"Are you under the impression you're capable of doing anything more?" She snapped and Albus turned to her, a warning stare in his eyes. Chris, however, rose his eyebrow in interest as he looked to Lily then to Damien.

"Do you have an idea of what to expect?" Chris asked, choosing his words carefully. He had never accused Lily and Albus of siding with their brother in any way, and was certain not to do so at that moment. If the thought had ever crossed the minds of the other men in the room, they kept silent about it as well.

"James will not back down from you because you look scary." Lily responded simply. Before she continued, she turned her gaze back to Damien. "He's far more powerful than you give him credit for and he's certainly more intelligent than you. That's quite frankly the only thing the three of us share." Lily answered simply, careful not to sound so defensive of her brother. Albus relaxed at her comment, knowing it was enough to solidify them as worth of Chris' trust.

"How powerful?"

"I suppose that depends on how stupid you are." Lily replied, but turned her eyes away from him when Chris touched her shoulder. She turned her eyes to Chris, keeping her face straight. Albus was more than satisfied that Lily had managed to play her part perfectly without revealing too much about James.

"I don't suppose you have an idea on how to approach him?" Sander asked, his voice remaining calm and collected, a harsh contrast to Damien's overly confident tone.

"Of course not." Lily replied with a scoff. "I haven't seen the man in years. You have a much idea of how he attacks than I." To an extent she told the truth. She hadn't seen James in years, but she knew James' tactics could not have changed too much over time. After all, they've worked so far. No reason to change something Chris can't stop just yet.

"Well, from what my spies have gathered, James Potter will be leading a small group of men on an attack against me in ten days. I want you five there at the old Ministry building to greet them." Chris explained. Lily looked to Albus and they glanced at one another for a moment before Albus broke the eye contact to look to the other men. Lily put a gentle smile on her lips before she turned to Chris.

"Well, the five of you are all quite talented, and I'm sure you'll be able to work something out." Chris said as he placed his hands on Lily's waist and motioned for her to stand. After she had gotten to her feet and stepped to the side, Chris stood and pulled Lily to him for a kiss. Albus watched the pair, as did the other men, but he knew Lily had never been one to show affection so openly. With Chris, however, he was sure it didn't matter. Though he had never really asked her, and she had never really said, he remained under the impression that Lily did not harbor any romantic feelings towards him.

"You can start working now," Chris said as he turned back to the men. He took a few steps towards the door but turned back to Lily before he reached his guards. "When you're finished, come to my room."

Lily only nodded as she forced her eyes to him. Though she did not like to show affection in public but could manage it with a man she didn't care for, she never appreciated public declarations of her personal or romantic life. Without a verbal response, Chris turned and left the room and Lily shifted her eyes to Albus. He knew she was annoyed even without her having to say so.

Without looking in his direction again, Lily waited for the sound of the door clicking behind him before she turned to the other men in the room. She wasn't quite sure how trusted she was among the men but she was certain she would find out soon enough. In the past she'd proven her ability and skill but she doubted the three men staring at her could remember that far away. Ethan, however, seemed to be the type to be able to recall anything should it benefit him in some way.

"I think we should just attack head on." Damien declared in the silence. Lily shut her eyes tightly as she took a breath in order to temper her mood. Albus cleared his throat as he took a seat in one of the armchairs. He, too, chose not to respond to the outrageous idea, and it was left to Ethan to respond to it.

"No," Ethan said simply before he sat on the table near the fireplace. Lily sat in the armchair Chris had sat in moments before, and was across from Albus. Ethan was between them, leaving Damien and the last man, called Logan, to sit on the couch across from Ethan.

"That is a terrible idea," Ethan added with a sigh before he turned to Albus. "I think a nice fire will do the trick in drawing them out."

"We should just go in." Damien added and Lily turned to him.

"What is wrong with your thinking process?" She snapped and Albus chocked on his wine as he laughed. Ethan found himself smiling but Damien only glared at Lily. To him, Lily was a woman and did not belong among the ranks of the Divisions' most talented. She was just a woman who had Christopher Adler at her beck and call, and by some miracle had kept him much longer than other woman.

"I don't suppose you have a better idea." He replied but his response did little to redeem him from Lily's demeaning comment.

"Any idea I have does in fact include survival." Lily answered before she faced Albus and Ethan, both of whom were entertained by the pair. "Five of us will be killed eventually if you raid a possible head quarters of the revolutionaries. We have no idea how many people are in there."

"You don't know how many people will be with him either." Damien responded.

"His attack with fifteen men is much less than the possible hundreds in the building." Lily replied before anyone else to could point out the flaw in his thinking. "Besides, we may not even have to draw them out if we're there before they start their attack."

"That could be hours of waiting." Logan commented, but Lily kept her eyes forward. Only Albus and Ethan turned towards him.

"We should stake out the building the night before." Ethan concluded. "At best, only Potter and his men will come out and we'll have at most twenty to fight off."

"Against four it'll be a bit challenging." Damien commented.

"Don't be ridiculous," Lily turned to him with narrowed eyes. Albus hadn't seen her blue eyes shine with such intensity in years, but part of him wished it hadn't been anger that had brought it out in her. "You can at least cont yourself as half a person."

Before he could respond, Lily had risen to her feet and turned away from the men. With more grace than the four possessed all together, she seemed to float towards the door, her dress and cloak flowing behind her. She exited the room before the silence could be ended, but of course she knew Damien was not nearly clever enough to even give her a challenge should he bring a battle of wits around them.

Albus and Ethan knew it too, but they had derived far too much entertainment to save him from himself. Of the four, only Damien had made the mistake of under-estimating the woman. Albus, of course, had a much better idea than anyone, but Ethan was not foolish enough to think Lily had only a sharp tongue. It might've been a year since she last saw front line battle, but Lily's wand point was certainly sharper than her remarks.


	4. Chapter 4

**I didn't notice it until a few days ago, but the first chapter of this story used Christopher Adler's original name of Ethan Chambers. As of now, I've gone back a changed it, but in case any one is confused, the Ethan Chambers in the first chapter is Christopher Adler, and not the Ethan Lily and Albus speak to. Sorry for any confusion. It was a terrible mistake. **

**X**

"I don't understand how these little cuts and bruises get here," Hugo commented. His voice sounded distant and detached, but James knew he was just focused on healing the many cuts across James' head and arms.

"I can show you if you'd like." James replied. Rose narrowed her eyes at James but Hugo let out a soft laugh. As he continued to apply muggle bandages to James' open wounds, James flinched away from him, but Hugo continued nonetheless. As he finished, he moved to Edward sitting beside James and Rose neared the three.

"I could only get a hold of seven brooms." Rose explained as she peered down at her cousin. "You'll need to make some adjustments to your original list."

"Well, we've only picked six so far." Edward answered and Rose only stared at the two men.

"Including yourselves?" Rose asked.

"Yes." James answered and Hugo let out a laugh. Edward pulled back from him, and he and James peered at him. "What was that?"

"I'm a Healer and even I know that's a terrible idea." He answered frankly and Rose laughed while the two older men stared at the siblings.

"Why is it so terrible?" Edward asked as Hugo finished with their smaller, less serious wounds.

"Because you're not that fantastic of a flyer." Hugo stepped back from the two and Rose stepped towards them. Edward narrowed his eyes at Hugo, and though the statement was true, Edward resented it all the same. "Besides, you're both pretty badly beaten. You really should take a few weeks to rest."

"A few weeks?" James replied. "Are you barking mad? Do you the slightest idea how much can happen in a few weeks?"

"Death?" Hugo responded and James turned away from Hugo's reasonable thinking to face Rose's instead. "At least promise me you'll attempt to rest at some point in the near future."

"Fine." Edward and James grumbled in agreement to satisfy him, but Hugo knew not to really expect much from the two. He quickly left the room to continue seeing the other wounded witches and wizards, leaving Rose alone to plan their future attacks.

"Have we heard anything back from the spies?" Edward asked curiously as he peered up at Rose. She shook her head as she met his gaze.

"Nothing yet." She answered. "I doubt it's easy to get a message out of there, though. I'm sure we'll hear something eventually."

"What if they've been found?" James asked.

"Then there's nothing we can do about that." Rose answered sharply as she turned back to her papers. She kept track of all the things James would've never thought of keeping track of, and as a result, they were far more organized than James originally thought. As she continued to go over the list of men who had accompanied James and Edward on their last attack, she crossed out the names of the ones who had been killed or lost.

When she had time she sought out their friends and family to give them the news, knowing that everything was easier to know what had happened instead of wondering forever. As such, a visit from Rose was never something people looked forward to. It almost always was bad news.

"He would be in a prison if that happened." Edward said, as though the thought was supposed to bring hope.

"Or he could've been killed immediately and we'd have no way of knowing." Rose snapped as she turned to Edward, her eyes narrowed. HE knew she wasn't angry at him but at the situation they were constantly in.

"He would've tried to get a message, Rose." Edward replied.

"It wouldn't have gotten through." She answered before she looked to her list of people again. "Who are you taking with you to attack the prison?"

**X**

As the day of the attack neared, Lily found she could not as easily give into Chris' physical desires as she could before. With the thought of witnessing possible serious harm being done to her brother, Lily could not focus on Chris. She could hardly focus on him when other thoughts weren't haunting her mind. During those times, however, she knew the perfect distraction. Unfortunately that distraction was of no help to her now.

"What's the matter, love?" Chris tried to whisper softly into her ear as he gently pulled her back to his body, but Lily sat up on the edge of his bed and pulled the straps of her nightgown back up to her shoulders.

"I'm distracted, Chris." Lily answered simply. "You want me in battle, and I need to focus to do so."

"You didn't need to focus so intently when we first fell in love." Chris responded. His words almost sounded as though he was concerned, but his tone destroyed any possibility of that being the case. Chris wanted what he wanted, and Lily was not in the mood to give it to him.

"I was smitten by you." Lily lied easily, though the mere thought was certainly enough to make her sick. "And this is more important than any direct action I was involved with a year ago. I don't want to become distracted there by thoughts of you."

Chris almost smiled at her. She was almost as good at spinning hollow words as he was. She certainly was better at seeing through them than he. With that, Chris nodded and moved to sit behind her. He pressed his lips to the back of her neck after sweeping her long dark locks over her shoulder. "Very well, then. Perhaps you shouldn't stay here until after the attack, either."

"Perhaps." Lily repeated as she turned to him. She let him place a kiss on her lips before she rose to her feet. She gathered her thin cloak and tied it around her shoulders before she looked to Chris again.

"Good night." He told her. She knew he thought he sounded sincere but just like every other thing he says throughout the day, he means it only when it brings a benefit to him. Without looking back at him, Lily left the bedchamber and started to make her way towards her private room on the second floor.

She hated the way the floors creaked, and the noise seemed to amplify in the middle of the night. Without the sun's natural light, everything in the large mansion seemed a lot darker than she remembered. Even the furniture of the rooms she passed through seemed to carry a haunting presence that they lacked in the daylight. Finally, she reached the stairwell and the second floor corridor, before she stopped when a man's figure stepped into her path. Immediately, she pulled her cloak around her body to conceal her barely dressed figure, and as she recognized Ethan's face, she did not let down her guard.

"Out late?" He asked as he held his single candlestick between them.

"Why does it matter to you?" Lily responded with narrowed eyes. She did not like the overly friendly way which Ethan stared at her. Even his smile seemed as though he thought of her as a friend of ally, but Lily was not so easily fooled. The only problem was how genuine it felt to her. Against her instincts, Lily was very distrustful of Ethan.

"It doesn't." He answered simply. "I'm only out for a walk. I can't sleep."

"Good for you, then." Lily commented before she stepped around him and tried to continue down the corridor.

"I hope you won't be so nervous in a few days." Ethan called to her and she paused before she faced him. "After all, we'll all need to be at our best."

"What are you implying?" Lily spoke forcefully and Ethan only shook his head. He had started to respond to her, but stopped when a woman approached the pair. She had frozen at the sight of Lily and her pale cheeks had quickly flushed red. Lily turned to Ethan as she waited for the woman to continue past them.

She knew Chris had summoned her for his night's entertainment. She had never been under the foolish impression that he truly loved her and only her. Perhaps he possessed some inkling of love, but Lily suspected the majority of it was self love. After a few moments passed and the woman had not left their side Lily turned to her.

"He's expecting you now. I suggest you hurry before he calls someone else." Lily warned with as friendly a tone as possible. She knew she sounded upset and jealous, but she hardly cared. The woman only nodded two quick nods before she turned and hurried away.

"You know about his other women?"

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Lily replied sharply as she eyed Ethan.

"You're dressed in a night gown and it's freezing, so I suppose you do, just a little."

Lily turned away from him and continued down the corridor without even wanting to respond to his comment.

"I'm only kidding, Lily." He called to her, but she ignored him and kept going. She could faintly hear his laughter, but she ignored it as best she could as she reached the door to her private room. She quickly locked the door behind her as she tightened the cloak around her body to better block out the cold stiff air of the dark mansion.

In the back of her mind, she often compared Christopher Adler's choice in living arrangements to that of Malfoy Manor. Of course, Lily knew the Malfoys had nothing to do with the new self imposed government Chris wanted for the wizarding world, but she wondered how the buildings could feel and look so similar. She wanted to wander about Draco and Astoria Malfoy. She hadn't seen them in several years, but she did her best not to let them come to the forefront of her mind.

They had been just children when the Ministry first started to show its weaknesses and incompetence. Of course, Christopher Adler had been just a child then as well, but his father thought of himself as a visionary and Chris quickly followed in his footsteps. Lily was far too young to remember, but she recalled conversations with James perhaps a few years later. Everyone had though the murder of Alexander Adler would mark the end of his visions for the future, but Chris, with the help of his father's most trusted associates, had continued what his father had started in a much quieter manner than his father.

Eventually, Chris hunted down his father's killers. That had been when Scorpius moved to live with the Potters. He never knew about what his parents had done, and Harry and Ginny Weasley, as well as Ron and Hermione Granger, had always been aware that one day the young boy would ask.

He didn't have to, though. He knew the truth, more or less. He didn't have the details, but the details wouldn't change the truth. Instead, Scorpius accepted his new living arrangements for what they were. Almost as though they never existed, Scorpius never saw his parents again. News of their death had never come, and Scorpius assumed their bodies had simply never been found. He didn't want to think of all the things Chris had done to them.

Lily had not wanted to think of it, and yet she had anyway. She could not remember the last time she had cried, but as the tears had forced themselves passed her eyes, she felt no need to stop them. The floor was cold against her legs as she fell down against her bed. She wasn't convinced that the fate of Draco and Astoria, unknown for years, was the only cause for her tears. Part of her sudden breakdown was James and the new position she'd found herself in.

She had never imagined how far up the ranks she and Albus would climb when they chose the Division over the revolutionary. Becoming one of the chosen few to carry out a kill on her own brother had never been something she had braced herself to endure. Now that it had had happened, Lily doubted her strength that had yet to falter until that moment.


	5. Chapter 5

The select five were standing in a small room near Chris' private bedroom, but cold silence surrounded them. Albus and Lily were silent due to the problems they knew they faced with the upcoming attack. Ethan stood near the pair, seeming to align himself with the two who were far more rational and sensible in terms of plan of attack. Logan and Damien were sipping on the expensive drinks Chris had set out, both relatively confident with what they were to carry out in the next twenty-four hours.

After what had felt like hours to Lily, Chris walked into the room, and as usual, his two guards were accompanying him. "Are we ready?"

"Of course," Ethan answered with a smile that made Lily's stomach turn. She knew that at some point during her career with the Division, she would be set against her family, but she had never imagined the burden it would cause her. It was miracle it had not happened until then.

"Lily," Chris called and she turned to him. She was not wearing her usual dress, and instead had opted for slicker pants and a black shirt. Her hair was tied up in a bun but was pulled more tightly to ensure her hair did not fall into her face. "I trust you will be perfectly fine."

She knew his words were meant to convey concern, but she could not find it in his voice. As usual, Lily only smiled at him as charmingly as she could before she accepted his kiss and rather physical touches. Albus saw her discomfort, but averted his eyes to Ethan. Lily distrusted him, and as Albus noticed the way he watched the siblings, Albus began to grow distrustful as well.

"Off you go," Chris finally said as he turned back to the four men. Lily stepped away from his side and joined the men. Albus turned to peer at her, but Lily kept her eyes forward, holding Chris' gaze until she popped out of the room first. Albus followed behind quickly, and Ethan soon after. A few minutes passed before Damien and Logan appeared at the site of where the Ministry building had once stood.

It wasn't an easy sight to look upon for either Lily or Albus. Both had memories of that area, good and bad, before and after the war surrounding them. Though Lily could recall a few moments from her past, she feared Albus would recall far too many. Lily hoped Albus would be able to push his past away long enough to carry out his place as one of Chris' most trusted men.

As she turned to look at Albus, she saw the look in his eye but it was so well hidden she knew only she could spot it. She was also the only one to know exactly what it was. It was her. Her long brown hair falling in perfect curls. Her laughter. The way her words sounded sweet no matter what. Her gentle, healing touch. Her love. And as Albus forced his eyes to stare out at the flat ground littered with ruins and the remains of a once tall imposing building, all Albus saw was her death. The place they'd buried her so many years ago.

"Do we know where they enter and exit?" Ethan asked curiously. Of course Lily and Albus knew, but neither offered up the information.

"Of course not." Damien answered in his confident voice. "We didn't even know this was here."

"We should just spread out." Lily suggested. "And stay away from anywhere where you might be spotted. I'll stay over here," She volunteered as she started to walk away from the four to find a place to hide among the debris away from the center of the ruins. Albus knew Lily was purposely positioning herself away from the entry to the building so that she would not be the one to attack them first.

As high ranking members of the Division, Albus and Lily could not afford to attempt to stop any attacks on their brother. As James' siblings, however, they could not afford to start the attack themselves. Of course, they weren't really spies for James, nor were they really members of the Division either. Albus and Lily were quite literally trapped in the center and were finding that it had finally started to collapse on them.

"Very well," Ethan agreed. "Damien, Logan, you take that far side. Albus and I will spread out over here." Albus peered to Lily for a moment, but she avoided his gaze. She felt Albus' green eyes watching her, but she felt Ethan's presence as well, and it was far more threatening than she cared for.

**X**

"Are you ready?" Rose asked as she approached James and Edward. The two men peered up at her for a moment before all three simply nodded. In the many years they had organized attacks against the Division, preparedness was never something they had time to achieve. For the vast majority of operations, James and Edward took what able witches and wizards they could find and hoped it worked for the best. Waiting too long in-between attacks to recover entirely also had its drawbacks like allowing Chris time to recover as well.

"Well, I doubt this one will go off as planned," Rose said and James only nodded.

"I know. We already added a few people. Better duelers."

"More duelers than fliers, actually." Edward added and Rose nodded. Usually, she did not like last minute changes to any attacks, but under the circumstance, she thought it was a wise decision on James and Edwards' parts.

"Be sure not to leave anyone with too much information." Rose warned and James only nodded as he peered up to meet her gaze. Rose was usually the strongest of the two and far more capable of carrying on after bad news, but James saw the concern in her eyes.

"I love you," James told her gently and Rose let out a soft chuckle. He reached out to pull her towards him, and she accepted the embrace. As she let out a breath, Rose rested her forehead against James' chest as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Be careful," Rose told him as he released her and he nodded.

"Of course." He answered as Edward also placed a kiss on Rose's cheek out of an admiration and adoration that did not include romantic love. "And have Hugo ready."

"I will." Rose promised with a nod as she walked with the pair into the next room where their troops were waiting for the attack on the prison. None of them knew that their three fearless leaders doubted they would even make it into the air before they met resistance.

**X**

Lily held her breath as she heard a soft rumbling originating from the other side of the ruins. She had wanted to keep her eyes open so that she might catch a glimpse of her brother for the first time in years, but her eyes shut tightly anyway. A loud crash echoed in the still air and only moments later, she heard the first spell land. She didn't need to look to know it had hit James. He had to be the one in front, but Lily's heart wanted to deny it against her rational mind.

Before she could be noticed, she emerged from her hiding place. To her right Albus and Ethan were approaching the cast number of witches and wizards still filing out of the building. She clutched her wand tightly and rose it only when the first wizard approached her. Careful not to mortally wound or kill, Lily stunned the majority of her opponents. She tried not to draw blood or critically wound unless it was absolutely necessary for her survival.

"It looks like Logan and Damien are having trouble," Ethan called out. He was between Lily and Albus, and Lily feared he was close enough to see how she handled the witches and wizards coming towards her.

She wanted to respond to him, but a loud crash echoed through the air, pulling Lily's attention to the general direction from which the sound had come. She couldn't make out the people, but her stomach dropped and turned at the mere possibility that Logan and Damien were too much for James to take on himself. Ethan had taken off in that direction, and Lily and Albus met each other's stares. Without saying anything, Albus turned and followed Ethan, leaving Lily behind. She decided to stay back, moving forward only as she shot spells at the few witches and wizards who had still come towards her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the area where Ethan and Albus were running towards, but kept her focus on the collection of wizards starting to surround her. She knew she was in some danger, but she would survive nonetheless. Even if she wouldn't, she was far too concerned with James and Albus to have noticed the immediate danger around her.

A second crash echoed, and Lily immediately turned, but saw two figures pull out from the explosion of spells on brooms. She knew who they were immediately. She recognized her father's broom even in the distance. She couldn't help but recall the old, faded pictures she had been shown in her childhood of her father on his broom in search of the snitch. In the distance, James looked just like him to Lily. Their dark hair was the same, and James leaned forward and gripped the broom in the exact same way as their father had.

She smiled as she watched James, and his handsome best friend fry out from the four Division members closing around them. There was no way to know for sure, but Lily hoped desperately that James knew she and Albus had not betrayed him. She hoped that he knew, somehow, that they had loved him every day, and had never revealed his secrets.

Pulling her back to her present situation, a spell knocked Lily back, but she quickly attacked back. After a few minutes, Lily had cleared herself of immediate danger, but had been wounded in the process. Holding her bleeding side with one hand, Lily moved to the direction James and Edward flew in, watching them as they touched back to the ground. Albus went to them first, and Ethan followed soon after. Lily tried to keep up to the two men, and hadn't looked back to find Logan or Damien. Others had followed as well, but Lily was small and quick and was capable of dodging the majority of the spells sent her way. She paused only to return fire, but still kept to her stun spells rather than the one which caused physical harm.

As she continued, she eventually passed Ethan and Albus when the two had been cornered by those attempting to protect James and Edward. Edward had flown away from James to help in the fight against Ethan, leaving James surrounded by nobody for a good amount of space. Only Lily finally reached him, the two were more or less alone on the battle field.

"Lily," James stared at her, his blue eyes staring into hers. She hardly felt the smile that forced its way onto her lips, but James quickly smiled back at her. Lily realized exactly how long it had been since she last saw him when she began to notice the small features on his face. She couldn't remember James ever having wrinkles, and yet even on his relatively young face she could make out thin lines starting to form.

"Lily!" Albus' voice screamed and the two quickly turned to find Ethan beginning to break from the number of people holding him away from James. Without allowing James time to realize what was happening, Lily turned back to him and lifted her wand to him. The spell shot from the tip of her wand wordlessly and James quickly flew into the air.

Lily knew she was not hurting James, but she still needed to solidify her image in front of Ethan. As more people came, Ethan was slowed again, and Lily ran to James, Albus following behind. He lay on the ground, eyes wide in shock that he had not felt anything from the hit or the fall. As Lily bent down to his side, she held her wand to his neck, but James noticed how loosely she held it between her fingers.

"I love you." Lily said softly as she reached into the pocket of her pants with her free hand. "I'm so sorry, James." She spoke in a rushed tone as she retrieved a small bundle of papers and quickly stuffed them into his hand on the ground.

"Are you ok?" James asked instantly. Her eyes lit up as she held his gaze, amazed that he did not harbor feelings of hatred towards her for her betrayal. She had never known if he had still trusted or loved her and Albus after their entry to the Division.

"We're… living." Lily answered hurriedly before she casted simple and quick healing charms on James' wounds.

"Lily," Albus called again and James turned to him, his eyes holding as much love for Albus as they had for Lily. The two brothers exchanged glances from a distance, but Albus was wise to keep the distance. As Lily peered at him, she noticed Ethan nearing as well, watching her and James with an odd stare. As he his eyes shifted slightly, Lily turned back to James and watched the last of the blood on his shirt disappear into his healing wound.

"Hit me, James." Lily spoke in a hushed whisper. Her eyes were wide in fear and desperation.

"No." James shook her head, and Lily resisted the urge to look back at Albus and Ethan.

"Hit me." Lily repeated more forcefully and as James noticed Ethan nearing them, he turned his eyes to Lily.

"We'll get you out." He promised softly before he lifted his wand and Lily flew away from him. She landed roughly onto the ground near Albus, and he quickly pulled her to her feet. Ethan quickly reached the pair, but Lily kept her eyes away from him.

"There's too many," Ethan declared simply, eyes on James. He had held his wand up but James had quickly retrieved his broom and escaped the three. "We need to go back for Logan and Damien."

Albus agreed, but Lily narrowed her eyes at Ethan. She could not help but feel that he had been too close to her and James during the brief exchange. Without being able to express her concerns to Albus in confidence, she only nodded and followed the two to where Damien and Logan had been stopped.


	6. Chapter 6

"Albus," Lily whispered as he helped her walk through the narrow corridors of the Division headquarters. She had been wounded on her leg while attempting to help Damien and was having trouble walking. Ethan, Logan, and Damien, had already gone ahead of the pair to receive care from the Healers in the small room designated for hospital care.

"What?" Albus asked as he tightened his hand on her small waist.

"I think he saw."

"Who?"

"Ethan." Lily answered softly as she stopped hopping beside him and turned to face Albus directly. "I gave James letters. And healed him. I think he saw."

"You gave him letters?" Albus asked and she nodded. Albus saw the mixture of fear and guilt starting to form in her eyes, but Lily's exceptional talent at keeping the surface calm and collected soon washed away the look of concern. "We could be killed."

"I had to, Albus. You know I did." Lily replied and Albus nodded. He understood the need and couldn't blame her for the action.

"I already burned mine since I didn't get close enough to him." Albus admitted and Lily smiled weakly, knowing she was not alone in wanting to desperately contact their brother.

"What do we do?" She asked. Albus only shook his head. She hadn't really expected an answer from him, but had wanted to ask anyway. She and James had always been the ones to make decisions and Albus usually sided with whoever seemed most rational. At that moment, however, Lily could not help but feel that Albus would've been far safer had he followed James into the revolution instead of herself into the Division.

"If he saw, wouldn't he have already told somebody?" Albus asked and Lily shook her head.

"He'll blackmail me." Lily answered.

"How can you know that?" Albus replied, wanting to think in as positive terms as possible.

"Because that's what I would do." Lily's tone was cold and for a moment she sounded as though she truly belonged along the cold hearted men who kept the Division in control. Albus knew that deep within her, however, that she was not as cold as she seemed. Lily was talented at hiding emotions and surviving. When she appeared cold, she was simply using both talents at the same time. He knew that any other woman in her place would have fallen apart long ago, but he wasn't sure if he liked the hardened woman who was slowly taking over his sister.

In silence, they continued down the corridor until they finally reached the small hospital-like setting where Logan, Damien, and Ethan, were already being healed by the few healers who were present. Chris was already in the room as well, and had started to near Lily, but paused when he saw the open wounds on her side and leg. A female Healer approached the pair and took her from Albus' arms before he turned to the Healer waiting to heal his wounds as well.

Lily was moved to the other side of the room and curtain drawn around her so that the other men in the room could not see her exposed body as the Healer began to work. Chris always made sure his women were not touched or sexualized in any way by any other man, and Lily was sure the female Healer had been chosen for that reason. Other than Albus, Lily was to remain untouched by any man who was not Chris.

**X**

"I'd say we were pretty well prepared." James mused as he lay shirtless across one of Hugo's makeshift Healing tables. It really was nothing more than a desk with a clean white cloth draped over it. Considering the lack of resources they faced, Hugo did exceptionally well in managing his own small Healing clinic.

"Except a good majority is wounded in some way." Hugo replied absent-mindedly as he focused on his work.

"But it'd have been worse without the warning." James pointed out and Hugo peered up at his cousin.

"What warning?" Hugo asked with narrowed eyes. He had finished bandaging James' wounds and rose to his feet as James sat up on the edge of the desk. As though on cue, Rose entered the room as well, Edward trailing behind.

"Our spies, Hugo." James reminded him. Of course, Hugo had some knowledge of their tactics, but he had never really been interested in such things. He only nodded as he stepped to the side and Edward and Rose stepped near James.

"James!" A small girl's voice filled the room and Hugo turned to the doorway where a little girl, perhaps seven or eight, was standing. She was wearing a long white coat, similar to the Hugo wore when tending to his patients, but the long garment pooled around her feet as she stepped forward carefully as to not slip on it. "Did you get hurt? Can I help?"

"Kate, please put that back wherever you found it." James responded without looking to the girl. Hugo only laughed as she continued towards them. Once she reached the table, she pushed herself up onto her toes and grabbed the edge of the table so as to get a better look at whatever Hugp was doing so that she might help.

"You can help me with the others, Kate. Who's supposed to be watching you, right now?" Hugo asked and Kate shrugged as she stared up at him with big brown eyes. "Then, go sit in my office and find something to do for right now, please."

"I want to help!"

"Not with James." Hugo answered as he turned away from Kate and continued to bandage James' wounds. Eventually, Kate pouted and walked back towards the doorway, dragging her white coat with her. For a moment, silence fell around the four adults, though Hugo hardly noticed the intensity that come with it.

He couldn't see what they did because he knew Kate much better than the three. He related to the little girl on a level only comparable to Albus, but Albus wasn't around to help with her anymore. Whenever James, Rose, or Edward looked upon the girl, they could only think of her sister. The beautiful woman who had run the infirmary side by side with Hugo. With no parents and family, Kate clung to those who had been closest to her sister: Albus and Hugo.

"Did you see them?" Rose asked to push the memories from her mind and James nodded. Rose smiled and James could not help but notice that she was so rarely happy. Part of him felt responsible that Rose had nobody to help her through the nights, but he knew that he had never forced anybody to take part in their actions. James was always willing to let people choose their place within the revolution.

"Here." James said as he reached into his pocket where he had kept Lily's small stack of letters. He sorted through them and found pulled out the letter addressed to Rose. He turned toward Hugo and handed him a letter as well. "Lily gave them to me when we were alone."

After giving the letters to Rose and Hugo, James replaced the remained two letters to his pocket, only one of which was his. The last was understandably not addressed to Edward but to someone James could not reach to deliver the letter. Nonetheless, James would hold onto it until the time that Scorpius could read her words.

"Do you think they know?" Edward asked as he looked at James.

James only shook his head. He wasn't quite sure about the extent of knowledge Lily and Albus possessed. Surely they assumed some spies were present around them, but James doubted they knew exactly who they were. He had never expected the spies to make themselves known mostly because many of his fellow supporters doubted Lily and Albus still fought for their cause. At the time of their conversion to the Division, James knew they were not spies and many took their conversion as the ultimate betrayal.

Having Lily's letters, however, proves to at least the four in that room that Lily may not be a spy for her brother but she certainly cared deeply for him and her cousins. Healing his wounds in the midst of the battle had been more than enough to prove it, not that James had ever needed convincing. He had never really lost faith in his siblings anyway.

"What does yours say?" Rose asked as she peered up at James. Her tone was not one of curiosity, but rather seriousness, evoking an odd stare from James.

"I didn't read it yet." He answered with narrowed eyes. He had wanted to wait to read it privately, but Rose's critical stare convinced him to reach into his pocket.

"Look," Rose held out her letter to James and he looked over at the pages, expecting words, but found a drawing instead. Specific areas were marked and labeled, while others were drawn in greater detail to the side of the main drawing. As James took the pages from Rose's hands he looked at the drawings more carefully before he peered up at Rose with narrowed eyes.

"It's a general layout of the prisons." Rose confirmed and James turned back to the drawing. He handed the first page to Rose before he looked at the second page. "There's a map and where to attack and the weaknesses of the building."

"She wants us to get Scorpius." James said simply as he turned up at Rose. Though Edward and Hugo had not been speaking, they felt the room suddenly chill between the two cousins as Rose reached for the other pages.

"How do you know he's even-" Hugo started but stopped. James faced him, but Rose and Edward had lowered their eyes to the ground. Hugo had tried to say the rest of his question, but only silence would pass his parted lips. Hugo had always been far more gentle and sensitive than James and Rose, but he often had difficulty with the tougher topics.

As the silence continued, Rose slowly peered up at her brother, desperate to comfort him, but even she, the bearer of bad news, could not answer his question.

"We don't know," James finally said simply as he jumped off the desk. He retrieved his old, dirty, torn shirt from a nearby chair and started to pull it over his head before he left the room. None of the three had wanted to follow after the tense moment, but Rose finally drew in a sharp breath and followed him anyway.

"We have to try." Rose said and James turned back to her. He nodded in agreement, but did not answer immediately. Edward and Hugo slowly appeared in the doorway, both wondering how James could think Rose was the strongest of them all. As they watched him battle with the matter of Scorpius' survival hours after seeing his only siblings after years of separation, both were convinced James was indeed the strongest. He only needed Rose for the kind of support her offered back to her. In truth, neither could stand without the other.

"We can recover for a week, then put together a team." James instructed, but it was unnecessary. Rose already knew how to go about organizing an attack.

"You have to believe it, don't you?" Rose asked and James drew in a breath.

"I don't." James answered as he shook his head. "I think they do. I think Albus and Lily would've gotten themselves killed by now if they didn't believe he was alive."

"If he's not?" Rose asked. She knew the answer, but as she held Lily's carefully crafted words and drawings, Rose felt herself slip into her childhood personality. She needed her older, wiser cousin to guide her through what could be the worst they've ever seen.

"I don't think we'll ever know for sure, Rose." James answered simply. "She said she doesn't know where." He pointed out as he retrieved Lily's letter to Rose. "This is just a general layout of a few of the prisons. He may not be in these ones, and he might be dead. He might be held somewhere else entirely. He might've been killed three hours after he was taken four years ago. Unless Adler is killed or permanently imprisoned under our system that we put up and keep, we will never know the truth. And even then it's a gamble."

"You think Scorpius is the Divisions' best kept secret?"

"Well think about it." James answered before he peered up at Hugo and Edward, both of whom had always been rather close to Scorpius. "If you were in Adler's place, what would you do?"

"Kill him." Rose answered.

"No," James shook his head. "He's got Lily and Albus, too. The two people Scorpius would do anything for."

"But he trusts them." Rose replied.

"Or he's good at pretending to."

"I thought Lily was his girlfriend or something." Edward commented and James nodded.

"Rumors. Probably true. She's saving herself and Albus in that position. But even if didn't trust them, Scorpius is perfect leverage against them and us. And he has a personal vendetta against him. Scorpius solves all his problems." James said, "Dead or alive."

"But if he's alive and with us?" Hugo asked. James and Rose smiled, realizing they'd forgotten what it was like to view the world in such positive terms. The war and battles that stripped them of that ability, but Hugo had retained it all the same.

"Then we might be able to get Lily and Albus back too." James answered with a soft nod as he turned to Hugo. "But they won't leave unless we can prove it to them. And besides," James shrugged as he paused and let his words trail off. "If we fail, at least they're safe."

"You can't believe that." Edward argued and James looked up at him.

"Why not?" He answered. "They're my brother and sister and they're probably a lot safer there than with me."


	7. Chapter 7

Albus was already in his seat near the center of the long table, sitting quietly with a glass of dark wine in his hand. He didn't feel like making small talk with those around him, and was instead distracted by the thoughts of his brother and cousins. He had never really realized the chasm that was between him and the rest of his family, other than Lily of course. He thought of them often, nearly every day, but he wasn't with them anymore. Seeing James for the first time in years made him miss them even more, and as he sat silently at the table he realized, he'd also grown somewhat attached to the men around him. At least as attached as one could be in such a cold and changing world that made up the inner workings of the Division.

When he heard the door on the far side of the room swing open, Albus quickly set his glass down and rose to his feet with all the others, but as he peered around, he noticed Ethan's lingering glance on him. He also noticed Lily's absence. She had sustained more injuries than him and Ethan, but Logan and Damien had been more severely injured than she. As Albus took his seat after Chris had sat, he turned and found the two useless men sitting on the other side of the table. He would've been concerned for his sister's absence, but she had, on more than one occasion, explained Chris' odd overly protective nature towards his current woman. Perhaps he had just forced her to fully recover before joining the ranks once more.

The dinner and meeting passed, though not quickly enough. As the men started to file out of the room, Albus lingered to ask Chris about Lily, knowing he was the only one permitted to do so. She was his sister after all, not that Chris honored any family ties other than his own. He simply did not feel threatened by Albus because he was the only man with whom Lily would not have an affair.

As he approached Chris, out of the corner of his eye, Albus noticed Ethan lingering behind. Though Albus distrusted Ethan from the start, hearing Lily's concerns about her letters and healing charm, Albus was far more watchful of him.

"Albus," Chris said as he turned to him with narrowed, critical eyes. "Something you needed?"

"I was wondering where Lily was." Albus skipped the small talk most others participated in.

"She's healing."

"Might I see her?" Albus inquired.

"She'll be in her room tonight." Chris answered simply and turned away to face another man. Albus only nodded as he turned away, noticing Ethan's eyes following him. Pretending not to notice, Albus continued out of the room, listening to Ethan's trailing footsteps as he went. Only when they had left the dining hall did Albus turn to face him.

"What?" Albus snapped in a tone that Lily used fairly often. It sounded odd in Albus' voice.

"Tonight in the rose garden." Ethan answered in barely a whisper. "Eleven. With your sister, if possible."

Albus hadn't responded before Ethan briskly continued passed him. He shut his eyes for a moment as she drew in a breath before he continued towards the staircase. As he walked down the second floor corridor, he paused at Lily's door and knocked, hoping she was there. He heard a great deal of shuffling behind the door, but when he tried to turn the doorknob, he found she had it locked from the inside.

After a bit more movement in the room, Lily finally pulled the door open and let out a long sigh as she saw Albus. With a soft nod, she stepped to the side and opened the door wide enough for him to enter. "I thought you were Chris." Lily admitted as she locked the door again'

"Ethan wants to meet at eleven in the rose garden." Albus said simply as he peered around the bedroom. Lily hadn't responded to him, but he was sure he could guess her response fairly accurately anyway. She couldn't be too surprised, considering she had feared he'd seen too much of her exchange with James, but Albus knew Lily's concerns and worries had intensified at the news he had given her.

"He wants you there, also." Albus added as he slowly turned back to her. "If you're not busy, I mean."

"With Chris?" Lily asked, her tone harsh even though Albus wasn't deserving of her temper.

"You could just make up an excuse anyway." Albus suggested. "I think there are enough women running around here who are more than happy to take your place even just for a few hours."

"You're mad at me?" Lily narrowed her eyes at Albus and he turned away from her accusing stare. Of course, he hadn't really said anything about anger directed at her, or otherwise, but Lily could read his tone of voice well enough to no longer need the explicit words.

"You're the one who-" Albus started but stopped, knowing words spoken within the walls of Divisions' headquarters were never privately exchanged.

"You'd have done the same if it hadn't been me to reach him first." Lily responded in a voice only slightly louder than a whisper. "And Ethan can do what he pleases and so can all those other women, Albus. If they want to take my place, they can try."

"What does that mean, then?" Albus responded, his tone slightly confused and even questioning. Lily only shook her head as she turned her back to her brother to face the mirror. She didn't respond to him immediately and started to brush out her hair.

"Tell him we'll be there." Lily said simply, leaving Albus without a real answer.

"Is there anything else you feel I should know?" Albus asked in an annoyed voice and Lily turned back to him with steady eyes.

"No."

**X**

The wind was harsh outside the walls of Divisions' Headquarters, but Albus and Lily took calculated steps through the intricate gardens with straight faces. They appeared to be unaffected by the wind, but both knew they had far more things on their mind than to be concerned with the mood swings of the weather. As they turned a corner, they found Ethan waiting for the pair. He stood beneath a small lantern that gave enough light for them to identify him in the darkness of the night, but not enough for anyone to see and recognize their faces from one of the windows of the building.

Ethan turned to Lily and Albus when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and though he had been the one to arrange the meeting, he could not help but feel intimidated by the pair approaching him, even if just slightly. Lily's cold face was almost enough to make any man tremble in fear, but the intimidation Albus possessed was much different. Where Lily relied on her cold eyes and straight face, Albus was intimidating through how open he appeared. Next to Lily, Albus could be easily mistaken as one's closest confidant. Of course, spilling secrets to Albus was as dangerous as keeping them from Lily, in its own way.

"I trust there is a very good reason for why you've dragged me out here in the middle of harsh winds." Lily's harsh tone matched her face, and Ethan smiled at her was warmly as he could. The only thing off setting about him was how sincere it appeared.

"Forgive me if I had not been aware of the weather patterns when I requested your presence." Ethan answered as though he were playing the role of the most charming man alive. Lily, however, narrowed her eyes at him, wondering exactly it is he was expecting her to do. She hoped he knew she wouldn't be caught dead falling for another man's sweet lines. That would spell the end of her reign on Chris' arm and by extension, her safety net within the Division. Surely, Ethan knew what a fool he was making of himself.

"Cut the small talk, and get on with it." Lily demanded simply and Albus cleared his throat as he took a step to the side so that he was no longer directly to Lily's right. Instead, the three formed a triangle beneath the dimly lit lantern.

"I really don't think you are in any position to be making such unkind demands of me, Lily." Ethan answered, daring to use her first name. The shock of that action was enough to leave Lily and Albus speechless. They had yet to encounter a person with such a daring personality. "Especially when I know what I know."

"Pray tell, Ethan." Lily's voice did not match her lovely beauty but Ethan smiled all the same. "What is it that you know?"

"I saw you heal your brother at the ruins of the Ministry building." He answered simply. "And you probably gave him something. Doesn't really matter what or if you did, because one's imagination can come up with such details and who wouldn't believe them?"

"Chris." Lily answered and smiled for the first time since she and Albus had been in Ethan's presence.

"Why not?" Ethan asked, turning to face Albus as though to include him in the conversation. Ethan could not help but notice how natural it was for the pair to fall into a pattern where Lily lead the way and Albus followed behind. The longer the back of Ethan's mind dwelled on the idea, the more he realized it had been Lily to reach James first and Albus had followed behind as well. It had been Lily to heal their brother, just as it had been Lily to secure their unmovable places among the high ranks within the Division. Lily was just as daring as their brother James even if their decisions appeared to be complete opposites. Ethan was slowing coming to the realization that when it came to lovely Lily Potter, appearances meant absolutely nothing.

"Chris loves me."

"Not anymore than any other woman."

"Slightly more." Albus commented and Lily shirted her eyes away from the men for a brief moment. It was brief, but a moment of weakness that Ethan had caught.

"And no matter at how good of an actress you are, you cannot fake love entirely."

"Are you accusing me of not loving him?" Lily asked, her voice giving no indication that he was right. Of course, Lily and Albus knew he was. At least Lily did. Albus could only hope.

"How could you? That's a hard man to love." Ethan answered. Lily watched him for a moment before she wrapped her arms around her body, pretending to tighten her cloak around her body as though the cold was seeping into her body. Lily, however, was simply feeling for her wand, and Ethan was foolish enough not to notice.

"Will this conversation continue aimlessly for the rest of the night?" Lily asked. "If so, I'd like to return to the indoors where the wind isn't quite so severe."

"I'd like to make you a proposition." Ethan said simply and Lily let out a laugh. "And if you agree, I won't tell anyone you're spies."

"We are not spies." Albus said immediately. Ethan's eyes remained on Lily, deciding she was the more important of the two to understand. He saw the flash across her face, but it lasted only a moment. Not nearly long enough to know what it was.

"Well you can't run either, because I'll tell him the truth. You won't get far with him looking for you." Ethan continued and in one swift moment, Lily's wand was grasped tightly between her fingers and pointed directly at Ethan's neck.

"And how far will I get with you dead?" Lily asked and Albus turned to her, eyes wide.

"Lily," Albus tried to reach for her, but she turned to him, and her look was enough to stop him.

"Albus, we only have a few options left, and Ethan seems quite delighted the narrow them down even further." Lily explained as though she were talking to a child.

"And killing him would change that? We'd be forced to run and his death will only buy us a little bit longer. Not nearly enough time to get anywhere with minimal safety."

"It is rather disturbing to listen to you plan your escape after killing me while I'm still alive," Ethan added and Lily turned to him.

"And making comments like that is supposed to persuade us to stop or continue faster?" She asked and Ethan cleared his throat as he held up a finger as though telling her to wait a moment. She only rose an eyebrow at him, wondering exactly how much power he had over a determined woman with a wand at his neck.

"If you would give me just a moment to explain." Ethan said as he turned to Albus. He was amazed by the pair and how they fit together like puzzle pieces. On the surface, and perhaps to everybody in the Division, viewed the two as though they did not have similar jagged edges whatsoever. Well, Albus certainly had his edges like every other person, but Lily was absolutely smooth in a way that was impossible. As he exploited her moment of weakness, however, he realized Lily was extremely talented at concealing her edges and once they were exposed, they fit perfectly along Albus' edges. They were wildly different, but fit together in a way that was reminiscent of lovers.

Ethan knew the idea was ridiculous. Albus and Lily were not lovers in any way or meaning of the word, but they moved together like one. They moved together the way the perfect pair of lovers would in a perfect world. Or even in an imperfect world.

"What grounds do you have for bargaining at the end of a wand?" Albus questioned and Ethan started to reach into his pocket. Albus quickly stepped back and pulled his own wand for protection but Ethan stopped at the sudden movement.

"It's not my wand." Ethan assured as he retrieved his hand from his pocket slowly. As he held his hand out to the siblings, he slowly opened his fingers to reveal what he held. Only Albus looked, and Lily kept her eyes on Ethan.

"Lily," Albus said, his voice different. It was softer and sounded as though Albus faced a breakdown in the near future.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"Look," He said simply, his voice almost inaudible over the harsh winds. Albus had delicately picked something from Ethan's outstretched hand as though it was extremely fragile and could break at the slightest touch. "Lily," Albus repeated, but sounded pleading.

Finally, Lily turned to glance at what he held, and quickly turned back to Ethan. She had only seen a glimpse of what he held, but it was more than enough for her to recognize it. Slowly, Lily drew in a breath as she forced herself to look again. The hand holding her wand began to shake as she stared at the bracelet in Ethan's palm.

It was a simple bracelet made of silver. It was cheap silver that showed signs of age and discoloration. It was embedded with small green jewels. They weren't real emeralds, but the best imposters little money could buy, and yet Lily stared at the small bracelet as though it were worth the world. Albus knew it was worth more to Lily, but neither knew Ethan was aware of it as well.

As she drew in a breath to steady herself, Lily looked to Albus' fingers and tried to ignore the stinging in her eyes caused by the tears. She recognized the ring he held and turned back to Ethan. "Where did you get these?" She demanded, her voice louder than it had been throughout the entire meeting.

"You know." Ethan answered simply. "The only place I could them. The only person who could've given them to me."

"It was him," Albus said, his voice finally breaking as he looked to Lily. A tear had fought its way past her defenses and rolled down her cheek as her arm dropped, letting Ethan breathe a sigh of relief when a wand was no longer a direct threat to his life. The cold made the tear feel like ice against her cheek, but Lily did not notice as she finally picked up the bracelet from Ethan's palm and held it between her fingers.

"I know you don't love him," Ethan finally said, but Lily did not peer up at him. Instead her eyes were transfixed on the bracelet that she had not seen in so many years that she had convinced herself it had been lost over time. "You can't love him because you still love someone else. Someone else you fell in love with long before Chris was part of your life. Long before Division. You loved Scorpius before anybody else even had a chance."


	8. Chapter 8

As Lily and Albus stared at the small pieces of jewelry in their hands, Ethan allowed himself to relax around the pair, even though he knew that was probably not the wisest decision. With Lily and Albus, it was impossible to know what could happen next. Only Albus looked up at Ethan, though he clenched his fingers tightly around the ring as though he could lose it again at any moment. Neither said anything, but both were thinking along the same lines. Lily, however, kept her eyes on the bracelet, and though she had let a tear escape, her face was still impossible to read, at least Ethan. He didn't know if Lily was literally impossible to read or if Albus had simply become well practiced in the art form.

With trembling fingers, Lily touched the green gemstones, her eyes watching the way they shined under the dim light above them. To break the silence, Lily finally spoke but she did not ask what Ethan had been expected. "Is he alive?"

Ethan's mouth fell open at his surprise, and when he didn't respond, Lily looked up at him. For the first time, he saw her with absolutely no defensives. Eyes brimmed with tears had replaced her walls, and desperation had taken over her emotionless voice.

"I don't know." Ethan finally answered. "I don't think anybody knows for sure."

"How did you get this?" Lily asked even though she knew the answer. She still needed to hear it, though.

"James gave them to me before I came here." Ethan answered truthfully. "He said that at some point in time, I would have to convince you that I was here because of him, but that you'd have to believe me as a member of Division before you ever trusted me as his spy. He knows you both better than anybody gives him credit for."

"Are we traitors, then?" Lily asked, sounding as though she would not be able to handle the answer. Ethan held back his answer for that reason, but as he turned to Albus, he realized the pair had so little knowledge of their brother and the revolution that even bad news was better than none.

"To some." Ethan answered. "At least, James, Rose, Hugo and Edward haven't condemned you."

"Surprises me that Rose is on that list." Albus commented and Lily cleared her throat in a way that told Ethan she agreed with her brother.

"Admittedly, she had some difficulty when you left, but she never openly condemned you either."

"You were there when we left?" Albus asked and Ethan only nodded once.

"I had just joined about a year before that. We met only twice." He said as he faced Albus, "But I never expected you to remember me. I was part of your second line forces against the smaller buildings run by Division."

"I remember." Albus said softly as he averted his eyes and Ethan turned to Lily.

"And I met Scorpius and you only once." Ethan said, but Lily shut her eyes. She knew she would never remember the moment, but she tried anyway. "Scorpius was trying to plot out all the possible places where prisoners might be held, and you started-" 

"We argued." Lily said breathlessly as she kept her eyes casted downward. "And he was taken a week later."

"And then you both left." Ethan said, watching as Albus touched Lily's hand. He didn't know she and Scorpius had argued so close to when he had gone missing. He had always assumed that Lily had been unnecessarily hard on herself afterward, but now he wondered how many times she played that moment over in her mind. He wondered how many different things she thought she could've said, even though nothing could change that moment anymore.

"What happened after?" Albus asked.

"Rose got mad."

"I'm sure that's an understatement." Lily replied, a piece of her cold exterior seeming to come back.

Ethan only let out a dry laugh as he nodded. "James cried and Hugo just kept going like he always does. Edward took over for a few months until James leveled out again. Everyone wanted to know what had happened, but James never had an answer. He didn't have information from you to say you were spies and words had spread that you joined Division so he couldn't say you'd been taken, too. And then everyone called you a traitor."

Lily drew in a deep breath as she nodded. She held Ethan's gaze while Albus avoided it.

"You were never really official deemed a traitor but that really didn't matter in the beginning. James still believed in you though. All the way until we went there a week ago and you proved him right."

"A single moment of kindness does not erase four years." Lily responded.

"Maybe not to your conscious." Ethan responded. "But you'd be surprised how little it takes to give hope to all of those men who would die for your brother. Knowing that you could've killed him and you healed him instead was more than enough to save yourself."

"How long have you been here?" Albus finally asked.

"I joined a few months after you." Ethan answered. "At first, James didn't really want information. He just wanted to know that you were ok. I was only supposed to go along with Division without drawing attention to myself and send a letter a week about you. If you were ok. If you weren't being tortured or anything like that."

A moment of silence passed between the three before Ethan continued. "But then you started to move up through the ranks. And I didn't know for sure, but I told James that I didn't think you were selling him out. Chris still had to rely on information from his spies even though you both knew more than enough to destroy him. And to keep tabs on you, I had to follow you up as well. And then," Ethan started but trailed off as he turned to Lily. "I didn't know how to tell James about Chris, but eventually he found out on his own."

Lily did not look away from Ethan's gaze, but held it steadily instead. "A year ago, Chris realized there was a spy among his most trusted people. Naturally, the first thought of everyone around him was Albus and I. Of course, we weren't the spies, and we no idea who was. And I convinced him of that."

"How did he know?"

"You're sloppy." Lily answered simply. "An owl is missing every Friday night, and returns Saturday morning. No letter, just the owl. Nobody sees who it is that goes up there every Friday night. Guards are stationed at the door of the owlery, and nobody is allowed a private owl. Except James still has something that belonged to our father. It was an exceptional magical item created by Death in a child's story ages and ages ago. He gave you his invisibility cloak."

"He said that if I tried to outsmart you, I would lose quite badly." Ethan admitted and Lily did not respond to the comment directly. "But there is no other way to get letters out than to continue the way I go."

"The secret passages." Lily answered and Ethan stared at her as though he had no idea what she was referring to. "When Chris built this place, he was not an idiot. He had several dozen escape passages should we ever be attacked here. One passage goes directly to the owlery so that he could a message to anyone."

"To you?" Ethan asked and Lily actually smiled at his daring words. Of course, had she not known about his secret loyalties, she'd have simply threatened him and turned away.

"It's what he claims." Lily answered, "But should we be attacked, his last concern will be me, which I suppose is fair. He won't be on my list either."

**X**

James sat on the bed in his designated bedroom staring at the drawings Lily had given Rose. Of course, it wasn't really a bedroom. Most of the rooms that had survived the destruction of the Ministry building were offices. When he, Rose, and Edward had decided to use the building as their Headquarters, they had converted a number of the rooms into bedrooms to house the good majority of their followers. After several years, most of the rooms were full and they were no longer accepting more people to live there unless the circumstances were dire. For that reasons, Rose was always careful to leave a handful of rooms vacant should anything happen.

James kept his eyes glued to the paper, though his mind was running through several different thoughts some directly related to the prisons Lily had outlined for them, others only distantly attached. When he heard a knock at his door, he peered up at the shut door before he called them in.

"Good morning, James." The cheery owl master greeted as he approached James. He was a fairly young man who had taken over control of the owls after his father had passed recently. James had always liked the boy and had wanted to teach him Defense Against the Dark Arts, but out of memory of his father, he requested to be made Head Owl Keeper after his father's demise.

"Anything interesting?" James asked as he set the drawing to the side and held out a hand for the various letters and messages that had come for him.

"Can't really tell by the envelopes." Mark replied as he handed James a stack of letters and various pieces of paper. "There is an update from Ethan, though."

"Excellent." James smiled as he searched the stack to find Ethan's unmarked envelope and pulled it to the top.

"He sent a second letter to Rose." Mark commented and James peered up. "But I can't seem to find her. I didn't want to go into her room, either. She is a woman, after all. And I figured it's some kind of love letter. Didn't want to risk losing it by slipping it under the door."

"How did you retain your gentlemanly mannerisms through this war, Mark?" James asked curiously as he playfully teased the young man.

"My father." He answered and James nodded knowingly as he held out his hand.

"I'll make sure she gets word from her lover." James commented and the two shared a laugh before Mark dropped the letter into his hand. "Have you gone to the infirmary yet?"

"No, heading there next. Did you need something?"

"Could you tell Hugo that he should start looking to bringing on a few more Healers of at least some nurses?" James asked, and Mark nodded. "Thank you." He called out before Mark left the room, closing the door behind him. Instead of returning to the drawings Lily had provided, James set the stack of letters to the side and picked up the plain unmarked one he knew was from Ethan. As he read Ethan's explanation of the previous week within Division, James could not help but smile.

Of course, it hadn't been until recently that more had started to believe him about his siblings. Despite everyone's insisting that Lily and Albus had deserted him for the Division, James believed in them wholeheartedly. In the months following their admission to the Division, some had believed in the good in lily and Albus solely because no attacks came at James and the revolution. Lily and Albus had sold no secrets. Still, the skeptics remained, but James had always been careful not to let it affect him. Only when Lily had healed him, and saved his life did James have actual proof that his siblings had no deserted him. Lily's more than helpful drawings were simply more proof than what was necessary.

As James read the words that Lily and Albus had accepted Ethan's position as his spy, he could not be any more overjoyed. For the first time in years, James felt as though Lily and Albus had taken his side again, even though it was clearly more the dangerous of the two. The position Lily and Albus were in made siding with James even more dangerous, but deep within James' heart he could not let go of the belief that his siblings had ever been truly with the Division. They may not have been helping the revolution, but they hadn't helped the Division make any major advancements either, and that was all James' needed.


	9. Chapter 9

"I want to plan a serious attack on the prison in the eastern fields from Azkaban." James explained as he walked through the doors of the main tactics room. In the center, Rose and a man were looking down at a map of the areas surrounding the Ministry building ruins. Turning away from creating more defenses, Rose looked at James.

"Why that one?" Rose asked. "It's the farthest away from here."

"That's why." James answered and Rose let out a breath before she turned to the man beside her.

"You work on that, and we'll discuss it later." She told him and he nodded before he folded the map and turned towards the door. As he passed James, he nodded slightly before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

"And this came for you." James said before he forgot and held out the letter to Rose. She took it from his hand and peered down at it long enough to realize it was from Ethan. With a smile she attempted to disguise, she folded the letter and put it in her pocket before she forced herself to focus on her cousin.

"What do you hope we'll find there?" Rose questioned as she retrieved the drawings Lily had sent her accompanying the main prison drawing James handed over.

"Scorpius." James answered. It wasn't a definitive answer, but more of a hopeful guess. "But we'll need as much power and force as we can possible get. I want to do this one right."

"James," Rose shook her head as she stared at him. "There's no guarantee he'll be there. Or that he's even alive." James held Rose's stare as he convinced himself that she'd meant her words to sound so harsh.

"We can't just let Lily's help go to no use." James replied and Rose scoff as she tossed the stack of Lily's letters onto the table top near her.

"Lily's help?" Rose repeated in a mocking tone as she rose an eyebrow. "We haven't seen Lily or Albus in five years, James!"

"Four, and I saw them a week ago!"

"During an attack against us."

"She healed me. And gave us those." James replied strongly as he motioned to the table.

"We had to send in our own spy before we got anything out of them!"

"It's not their fault!"

"Really?" Rose asked with a dry laugh. "Because Hugo and I and fairing just fine here. We didn't have to leave and they chose to."

"You've held a grudge against them for this long?" James asked but Rose did not respond. She averted her eyes and turned away from him. To keep her hands busy, she began to straighten the papers on the table. "Really, Rose? You're cousins?"

"They gave us no reason to believe they were still with us."

"Except for when didn't die." James snapped and Rose paused to draw in a deep breath. She knew instinctive words were never the nicest.

"Not selling us out is not the same as being with us." Rose said strongly.

"Yeah, fine." James responded. "They were scared and they didn't want our help, but that doesn't mean-"

"Don't be ridiculous." Rose snapped, stopping James mid-sentence. "We both know that was Lily's idea and Albus just went along for the ride. That's how it's always been, James! You and Lily in front of everyone else. Seeing things before the world can catch up, and Albus just sides with whoever makes sense at that point in time."

"Was she wrong?" James asked. "We've been close to dying and losing everything that I care for, Rose. Acting on survival and joining them doesn't seem like such a bad idea in hind sight."

"Well, why don't you go, and Edward and I will take over."

The room fell completely silent around the pair. Rose held James' gaze as steadily as she could, but the longer the intenseness continued, the more she realized she should've been so bold.

"Scorpius was taken, Rose." James finally said. "Albus' only real friend. Lily's… whatever he was. And we don't know the exact reason they left. They might've left to find him."

"Well, they failed at that."

"Are you saying you wouldn't have left in their situation?" James asked as he stared at his cousin. Rose was younger than him, but war had aged her to the point where he could no longer distinguish their mental ages. She stared back at him, searching his eyes, but could find no anger, only curiosity.

"No. I'd have stayed."

"Well, congratulations, Rose. You're probably the only one." James said coldly.

"You would have?"

"I don't even want to tell you how many times I've wanted to surrender." James admitted. "You might disown me the way you've casted off Lily and Albus." He scoffed before he turned and left the room, before Rose could respond. In the silence left behind him, the click of the door echoed around her and sounded as though the walls were going to collapse around her.

The longer she let the silence linger, the faster her thoughts ran through her mind. No matter how hard she had tried, she could think of no single moment she had entertained the idea of allowing the Division to take over the wizarding world and set in place their own laws and governing system. Knowing Lily and Albus had left had made her realize not everyone operated the way she did, but hearing James say the word 'surrender' had made her feel cold. Not cold in the way Christopher Adler was cold. He was cruel. Rose felt cold in a way that wasn't human. She felt almost as though she lacked all empathy.

She had only seen the logical reasons the Division should not be in control, but never had she fallen victim to emotions that governed her decisions. Knowing it affected each of her cousins, made her feel very alone in the silence James had left her in.

**X**

James walked into the infirmary and knocked against the door frame when he saw Hugo sitting with a man on one of the cloth covered tables. In the corner, Kate was staring into the colorful liquids held inside a few vials. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, but Hugo turned to check on her every few minutes. Hugo and the man turned to see James, and Hugo smiled at him before he turned back to the man's wounds.

James though It disturbing that Kate saw injuries on a daily basis and yet it had become so normal to her that she hardly paid it attention. Hugo usually didn't pay much attention to the though reasoning that Kate's sister, Bridget, had been such a talented Healer that Kate had been around the gore long before the matters of the Division and revolution.

"One minute, James." Hugo said as he continued to work. He quickly finished and stepped back from the table to walk towards a shelf on the wall with the door James had entered through. In the middle of the shelf, a blue vial sat with several others, and Hugo retrieved it before turning towards the man.

"For the pain." He said as he held it out, "But don't overdo it."

"Thanks." He said appreciatively as he took the potion and started to walk towards the exit. He nodded respectfully to James before leaving the cousins alone.

"Did you need anything?" Hugo asked as he started to walk towards the far wall of the infirmary. James followed behind him, but gave space whenever Hugo poked his head around the curtains that surrounded the beds used to hold anybody with serious injuries requiring constant care.

"Rose is mad at Lily and Albus." James said and Hugo drew in a deep breath as he paused and looked at his oldest cousin.

"I'm sure how much help I can be in that situation." Hugo admitted as he and James reached the end of the infirmary. Hugo lead James through a door which lead to the room where he stored the majority of their supplies, and James shut the door behind them.

"She's never talked to you about them?" James asked and Hugo shook his head. He walked to the corner of the room where a small table was designated as their apothecary to make various potions.

"She was really upset about Scorpius, though." Hugo commented as he started to brew a potion. Though James had heard him, he was awestruck at how quickly Hugo worked with the ingredients. There was a potions book sitting on a shelf beneath the table, but Hugo continued measuring and adding ingredients to the pot by memory.

"She talked about him?" James asked and after Hugo had finished brewing the potion, he turned to James to allow the potion to sit.

"Yeah, a lot actually. The more time passed, the less she talked about him, and when Lily and Albus left she stopped completely," Hugo said. "I don't really know why."

"She's acting like she doesn't want to use any of the information Lily gave me." 

"I don't really know what to say, James." Hugo admitted. "I mean, every time you or Edward, and even Lily, Scorpius, and Albus, had a problem you all came to me. I don't know if you came here first, but you all wanted to tell me something just for the sake of saying it. Most of the time no one wanted a real answer from me, but Rose never came to me about anything except Scorpius."

"Well, you're a good listener." James said and Hugo let out a laugh as he smiled.

"I'm the youngest. I did a lot of listening for a very long time."

"And you got very good at it." James replied and the two shared a laugh. After the moment passed, James spoke again. "Why only Scorpius?"

"I don't know." Hugo shrugged. "Of everyone we've ever lost, understandable, Scorpius was the hardest for all of us to come to terms with, except maybe Bridget, but that was mostly for Albus and I to deal with. But Rose almost never let any losses affect her, and Scorpius affected her more than I expected. Especially since they weren't nearly as close as Scorpius and Albus and Lily. I almost feel like she took it harder than they did."

"You don't think this has something to do with her and Lily, do you?" James asked and Hugo rose an eyebrow. He remained perfectly silent as he let the question and all that it entailed sink in before he let himself think of an answer.

"Please tell me you don't mean them and Scorpius." Hugo answered and James remained silent instead.

"They were always competitive." James explained when Hugo said nothing.

"Well, if that's it, then I want no part of it." Hugo answered. "Lily is not a woman I want to be around when she blows. And if you want to destroy the Division, you should just piss her off while she's still over there. That might do it."

James laughed at Hugo's logic, although it did not seem to far from the truth. "If he's dead do you think it will matter anymore?"

"I don't about you, but I don't think I can bring myself to hope he's dead for the sake of what little peace we have here."

"Does that mean you expect Lily and Albus to return?"

"I have to hope that as much as I can't hope for Scorpius' death."

James only smiled as he looked at Hugo's bright red locks falling around his freckled face. He looked so happy with life even though James could barely count the number of happy things going on around them. "Sometimes I think you should've been the one to lead us."

"I'm not nearly brave enough, James," Hugo admitted.

"Most of it isn't bravery." James admitted his own secret with a shrug. "Most of it is pretending to be brave. Pretending not to lose hope, because once I lose hope, everyone else does to. Pretending to have faith even though there's so little to have faith in now."

"I think there's a bit more to it than you give yourself credit for." Hugo said and James only smiled.

"Would you have ever done what Lily and Albus did?" James asked and Hugo shook his head.

"I told you, I'm not nearly brave enough."

"What about surrendering?" James asked and Hugo remained silent as he stared at James.

"I know there have been times where you got that close to surrendering, James, but you are brave for never giving in just yet. That's the kind of bravery I don't have and that's why you're the one leading and I'm in the infirmary."

"Take your own advice and give yourself some credit."


	10. Chapter 10

Chris was unusually irritable as he sat at the bead of the table drowning in his alcoholic drink. Lily did not dare to catch his eyes, and instead let his grip his fingers around hers while she ate with her free hand. Only when his grip became too tight, did Lily take her hand from his to pretend to wipe her mouth with her napkin. She glanced down the table until her eyes found Ethan's but they did not linger very long.

"My Lord, you seem as though something is bothering you." A man commented from across Lily. She quickly turned her eyes to find who had spoken, realizing he was a few chairs down the other side of the table from where she sat. With wide eyes, she stared at him, but he had kept his eyes on Chris.

"Do I?" Chris responded, his voice echoing through the room. Everything had fallen silent in the room, except Lily, of course. She always had a way of never following what Chris expected of all his men. But Lily wasn't one of his men, and she so enjoyed reminding him of that. As all the forks quietly clanked as they touched the table, Lily's wine glass chimed as she lifted it with two delicate fingers and touched the tip of the glass to her lips.

"There's a spy here, and I want to know who it is right away!" Chris demanded and Lily shut her eyes so that he could not spot her rolling them. She couldn't believe that announcing he knows of a spy to a room full of people was the best strategy to find said spy, but Lily had no intentions of pointing out the flaws in his plan.

Instead, Lily chose a different path to take. She knew it was up to her, because of all the men in the room, she was the only one willing to speak up to Chris.

"Perhaps going about the problem in a more logical way would serve you better in the long run, Chris." Lily commented and he turned his cold gaze to her.

From the middle of the table, Albus and Ethan watched with frozen eyes, but they could not see Lily's cold eyes staring back at Chris. Albus knew Lily was perfectly capable of speaking to Chris, but the notion still made him nervous. Ethan, on the other hand, could only stare at the mad woman wondering why she was so eager to enrage Chris.

"And what logical way would that be?"

"Anything that does not include yelling at a room full of people." Lily snapped back strongly as she rose to her feet. "And you've announced to your spy that you know he's here. He'll just make it harder for you to find him now. And all because you lost your temper like a child." Lily scolded and as Chris turned his gaze back to the table, everyone quickly casted their eyes downward as though it provided privacy to the arguing couple.

"Good night, Chris." Lily said simply as he pushed her chair out and started to walk down the length of the table, before Chris could say anything.

"You're just leaving?" He demanded once she reached the other end of the table. She paused for a moment before she turned back to him.

"Why should I stay? You're yelling like a child, and I am not your mother, Chris." Lily's words were demeaning, and she could see the embarrassment crawl across his face. She knew it would be at least a week before he requested her presence again, but time away from Chris was a commodity to her anyway.

Chris did not respond to her comment, and in the tense silence, Lily turned and continued towards the door, letting her shoes click against the stone floors with every step. Even the opening and closing of the door echoed through every inch of the dining hall, and in the silence the noise seemed amplified.

**X**

Albus and Ethan stood around the small table near a bookcase in the small library room Chris often liked to relax in. Three other men were with them, and to Albus and Ethan, it appeared as though Lily, Logan, and Damien had been replaced in Chris' new small group. Chris was standing by the fireplace, leaning onto the mantle with one arm. His other hand gripped the crystal glass before he downed the rest of the amber liquid.

"I'm not clear exactly what we should be doing." One of the three new men commented and Chris turned back to them. Albus knew Chris was supposed to be intimidating, but he had never been so good at it until Lily had made him so enraged.

"Find me the spy, now." Chris said strongly as he peered over the five men. "You five are my most trusted and strongest. Or some combination." Before Chris could continue, a knock was heard at the door before it creaked open and one of his messenger servants crept into the room meekly.

"She politely declined your request, my lord." The woman said softly as she looked at Chris, but she quickly lowered her eyes as he started to near her.

"Why?"

"She did not give a reason."

Albus watched, almost expected Chris to strike at the girl, but instead he waved her away and turned back to the fireplace. Silence fell throughout the room but the same man from before spoke up before the silence became impenetrable.

"I feel it's wise to consider the possibility that Lily is the spy, my lord."

Albus and Ethan stepped back stubbly, and for good reason, once Chris turned back to the men. In one fluid movement, he flipped the nearest table, breaking the glass cups and spilling their contents onto the floor.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Chris echoed through the room. "Do what you've been ordered to and don't try to think!"

Before anything else could be done to deteriorate the man's mood, Albus and Ethan lead the way towards the door. Wisely, the other three followed and shut the door quietly behind him.

"Are you barking mad?" Albus spat as he turned to the outspoken man after they had walked a few paces away from the door. "Was it your master plan to make him mad?"

"I am not wrong."

"You'd be surprised." Ethan mumbled and Albus managed to hold a straight face. As though appearing on cue, Lily was slowly approaching the five men, holding two wine glasses in one hand.

"Decided to show anyway?" Albus asked and Lily only smiled at him.

"I was busy, and the man needs some patience."

"I don't think now is the best time to be practice patience with him," Albus replied and Lily only stared at him.

"I don't care. I'm not his lackey. That's what the five of you are for."

The man, whose name Albus had never learned, turned to Lily with narrowed eyes, and even dared to grasp her free wrist with his large hand. "You have no right to give us any kind of orders. You are just his bed warmer of the moment."

As true as his statement was, Lily only held his gaze as she attempted to pull her wrist from his grasp. When he wouldn't let go, Albus had leaned in to help, but Lily stopped him when she released the wine glasses. The sound of the glass shattering echoed down the corridor, and the dark liquid splashed over their feet. As the men turned back to Lily's face, they saw her facial expression had changed drastically. Instead of the overly confident or even emotionless face she usually carried, she appeared as though she were about t cry.

"What was that-" Chris' voice boomed as well, but he stopped as he stared at the five men gathered around Lily. On the floor around their feet, pieces of glass and wine gathered on the stone floor. "Lily," Chris called out and Lily tried again to pull her wrist from the man's grasp, but had deliberately not pulled hard enough.

"Chris." She called for him and the man quickly let go and stepped back, but Chris had already drawn his wand. As he stepped towards him, Lily went to his side, making it a point to grab onto his free arm and press her body against him as though she required his protection. Chris logically knew Lily did not need him for anything, and yet the trap had worked on Chris as well as on the man bent on destroying her.

"You will not lay a finger on her again. Do you hear me?" Chris demanded, but he did not hear the man's response. Instead, he had turned his attention to Lily and cupped her cheek with her free hand. "Are you ok?"

"Just a little bruise." She answered as she peered down at her wrist and Chris had replaced his wand to his pocket to free his hand to gingerly touch the affected area of Lily's arm. "But I'll be fine. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I needed more time to look my best."

From the side, Albus and Ethan wondered exactly what it was that made Chris so easy to deceive so long as Lily was the deceiver. The man who had threatened her, had quickly moved away and out of arms' length of Chris, and could only stare at the couple with shock. He too could not understand the binding spell Lily had put Chris under with nothing more than a simple cry for help.

Before they could draw Chris' anger out a third time, the five quietly walked down the corridor, while Chris took Lily by the hand and lead her back towards the library. Albus did his best not to think of Lily's affair, but he had long ago accepted that no matter where life took him and his siblings, they would still be siblings. He could remember countless times he had sworn he would never be so invested in Lily's life, but he simply could not help it. Lily was perfectly capable of handling herself, and more than once has even saved him, but Lily will always be his little sister.

As such, he drew in a deep breath as he continued down the narrow dimly lit hallway with his four fellow Division members. No matter how hard he tried to clear his mind, he could not completely push Lily and Chris out of his thoughts, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ethan watching him. The five men eventually reached a staircase and followed the steps to the floor below before they stopped to speak to one another.

"I still think she could be the spy." The same man commented while intentionally staring at Albus who could only roll his eyes.

"Well, while the four of us find the actual spy, I wish you luck trying to get anything out of Lily." Albus answered simply before he turned to the other men. "What other thoughts do we have besides the insane ones?"


	11. Chapter 11

"How's our attack coming?" James asked curiously as he approached Rose in the room designated for planning. She peered up at him with slightly narrowed eyes, and he could see the guilt plaguing her. Instead of wasting time on a conversation both knew would've happened eventually, James continued towards Rose and put his arm around her shoulders. He gently pressed his lips to her temple in the exact same way her father, as well as his, had often kissed her and Lily.

Taking a deep breath, Rose focus on the papers in front of her before she faced James. "I think it'll be best to attack from all sides at once. It'll be difficult getting into position without being seen, but I doubt an attack on that specific prison will be foreseen. It is highly likely that the defenses are lower there than any other builder closer to us."

"How many do you think we should take?"

"Anyone able to go." Rose answered and James let out a loud breath. "I know it's a lot." Rose said in response, even though James hadn't actually responded. "But you said you wanted to do it right. I think we should pick a good number to stay here and convert a room on each floor into a makeshift infirmary. Hugo can designate heads for each floor and as they come back we'll be able to take them in immediately for treatment. And as soon as anybody gets seriously wounded, they need to return here. I think using portkeys might be our best chance at surviving this if we're still outnumbered."

"That's a lot of portkeys." James mused as he stared down at Rose's rough drawings mapping out her basic strategy. "What if one is dropped? What if someone from Division touches it?"

"It's a risk." Rose admitted. "But we cannot expect injured people to fly that far back. We can pick debris from outside to attach to the inside of their coats or on their pants. But everybody needs to have one for themselves. They'll be dropped and lost for sure. That way if anybody losses one, they can come back with anyone."

"And what about the people we lose?" James asked. It was a depressing question, but a reality for the state of war they were in.

"If you and I cast all the spells on all the portkeys, we can disable them once the majority of people are accounted for. Any of them left there will just be debris on dead bodies."

"How long to put all of this into a working plan?"

"A few weeks." Rose answered. "We have to divide everyone into groups." She explained as she turned to the aerial she had drawn of the prison James wanted to attack. "I think three from each side. One experienced leader for each group. You and Edward will lead the smallest but most experienced and talented group in last."

"Once the walls are breeched?"

"Yes." Rose nodded. "We don't know the inside layout and Lily gave us minimal information about the outside. Enough to guess at what to expect, but on the inside, we'll definitely need the best."

"Will you go out on this one?" James asked and Rose casted her eyes downward. She had used to take part in small fights with her family, but it had been years since then. In fact, she hadn't gone out on the field since Scorpius had been taken.

"Depends." Rose answered. "We'll devise a list of possible group leaders and if anyone turns down the position, I'll fill in."

"I'm sure Hugo can mange here without you." James commented and Rose nodded as she drew in a shaky breath. He couldn't be sure without Rose admitting it, but James felt as though there was some other reason behind Rose wanting to stay out of direct battle. With Scorpius, Lily, and Albus gone, Rose always had the excuse that no one was left to hold everything together.

"You'll need to start pulling people aside and asking for leaders." Rose commented as she met James' eyes. He nodded as he peered down the sketches spread out on the table. "And there's the matter of the prisoners that needs to be addressed."

"How do you mean?" James asked.

"If there are prisoners, as we suspect there are, we need to make housing arrangements for them."

"How many extra rooms do we have now?" James asked and Rose squinted her eyes before she turned away from him. She approached the small bookcase in the corner of the room where she picked up a heavy leather bound book. After returning to the table, Rose set the book down and began to flip through the pages. On each open page and the adjacent page, the floor map of each underground level was depicted with some degree of accuracy. In each room on the first two pages, where the first floor was drawn, every room had something written. The majority of the rooms listed two names, each inhibitor of the room. At one end of the hallway, a large room and the surrounding rooms were designated as the infirmary.

On the next two pages, the second floor was drawn and again every room listed two names, except the ones belonging to James, Rose, Hugo, and Edward. The third floor showed only two rooms open for occupancy, and the fourth floor had never been made ready for any use. They never had enough people to ever need the fourth floor, and as such it remained cluttered with whatever furniture the Ministry left behind during its fall.

"So the fourth floor will hold how many people if we house two people per average sized room?" James asked and Rose quickly ran through the calculations in her mind.

"About a hundred, give or take a few." Rose answered simply. "That ideal will be enough, but cleaning out the entire floor will take a lot of people and work. And we have no idea how many people we might be coming back with."

"What about the court rooms?" James asked, his eyes narrowed in curiosity as he stared at his cousin. Rose met his odd stare as she shut the book, letting the dust between the pages blow into the air. "I vaguely remember them when I was little. We went there once. I wasn't even at Hogwarts yet."

"They're on the seventh floor down." Rose answered simply as she lifted her arm. A book from the bookcase wiggled out of its place tightly between two other books before it floated into Rose's out stretched hand. James couldn't help but notice it was the first time in quite a while that Rose used her wandless magic abilities.

"I don't know what you want with them, though." Rose added as she peered down at the small book and flipped through the pages. Once she found the page she was looking for, she looked up at her cousin and handed it over. As James took it from her hand and scanned the page, he realized Rose had somehow saved an old copy of the Ministry's guide to the building.

"It connects to another building down there." James said half-mindedly as he continued to scan the words on the page.

"No it doesn't." Rose shook her head, even though James wasn't watching her.

"It does, Rose. I remember it. It's not in here, but it did."

"What building?" Rose asked and James dropped the book to the table as he drew in a breath and shook his head.

"I don't know." He admitted as he shut his eyes and turned towards the table. He rested his palms on the edge of the table and leaned forward and he tried desperately to remember anything from his childhood. "Albus was little and he was at home with Lily and I went with my Dad to the Ministry. He had to do something and we got down to the court rooms. He talked to the Minister."

"Ok," Rose followed along and James shook his head as he turned to her.

"And we followed him through the back door of the court room. The one the Minister walks in through and we went through some tunnel of some sort and he took us…"

Silence followed as James tried to remember a single moment that had happened so many years ago.

"You're sure it's not in this building?" Rose asked and James nodded.

"It was a completely different layout. There's weren't offices and no corridors. It was more circular."

"What do you think is there?" Rose asked.

"It had to be used for something." James answered. "We don't know what's in half these floors." He commented as he flipped open Rose's book depicted the levels of the building. "The Ministry had things, Rose. Potions and magical objects. Books, anything. There has to be a reason that building was set off from the rest of the building. And it connected to something else. There were other doors in other directions. It had to be kept secret for some reason."

"Well, we don't have the extra time or man power to dig down to the seventh floor," Rose answered and James sighed as he leaned on the table again. "There could be any number of things down there. I've only been down to the fifth, and that was where I found all those books."

"Is it bad down there?"

"It's not pleasant." Rose replied. "There are…" She trailed off as she drew in a sharp breath. "There are bodies. People you never got out. Never could."

"I'll have Edward and some men go down with you next time to clear them out." James responded simply as though the notion was rather commonplace. To some extent it was, but both knew the tragedy that was in itself.

"We would all be dead without you." Rose said suddenly and James' eyes shot to her.

"I don't believe that." James responded and Rose shook her head.

"You give everyone faith. You may not believe that we'll survive, and I doubt there are many who do believe that, but it make it easier to dream about it." Rose said and James reached out for his cousin. Rose stepped towards him and he pulled her to his body, his arms wrapping around her. Though Rose enjoyed the hug from her cousin, she could not help but feel as though he thought of Lily and the way he often hugged her in the same manner. Until Scorpius' abduction and Lily and Albus' disloyalty, James and Rose had never really shown physical signs of affection to one another.

"I'm slowly falling apart, Rose." James admitted and Rose pulled back to look into his eyes. "At least you have Ethan. Someone to write to. To wait for. Even Scorpius and Lily had each other even if they liked to pretend no one else saw it. And I don't have anyone."

"You're a difficult person to be with. We both are."

"And Lily."

Rose laughed as she nodded in agreement. "But Scorpius was easy. Easy to like, easy to love. Easy to agree with and easy to argue with."

"They were good together."

"And Ethan knows what to say." Rose added as she dropped her gaze. A smile illuminated her face and James couldn't help but smile as well. "He knows when all of this war has gone too far. He knows when to just hold me and say what I want to hear. It sounds like a lie, and I know it's not true, but it's like a fairytale. I believe it anyway, even though there are serious flaws to the story line."

"And me?" James asked and Rose chuckled.

"There are no women here who know what to do for you. No one understands you, and that's part of the problem. Edward likes the attention he gets but, we both know he doesn't love any of those women. You just have never found someone who understood you."

"What's wrong with me?" James asked Rose shook her head.

"Nothing. You're so shut off to the world and to everyone around you. You've been hurt so many times that you've almost given up. At least I know Albus has. I don't think he has faith in anything except you and Lily. And I would be willing to debate that."

"Because of Bridget?"

Rose nodded softly as she tried to look away from James, but he forced her gaze to him anyway. She hadn't heard the name in years, and realized that hearing it again was more than she could bear. As James touched her cheek, his thumb wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Do you think that's why they left?" James asked and again Rose nodded wordlessly. "But what about me, then, Rose? At least Albus had Bridget. For that short amount of time. I've never had anyone. How can I have given up if I've never be given a chance."

"You saw what happened to us when we tried to love." Rose answered simply. "You saw Albus kiss Bridget before we buried her. You saw Lily pick up Scorpius' wand. You saw how cold they got in that moment. It was just a moment before they stood up and everything seemed normal again. But it wasn't. And a few weeks later they were gone. And you don't think you're strong enough to bear it."

"Lily and Albus are stronger than I am, Rose." James said, his voice sounding as though he was breaking.

"No." Rose shook her head. "They've known more loss, maybe. But you're not weaker."

"Should I give love a chance? Even after all its done to us all?"

"If I thought you had a choice in the matter, I would give you answer. Unfortunately, love and fate like to play its hands even if no one is paying attention."


	12. Chapter 12

Lily's arm was wrapped around Chris' as the pair strolled through the gardens behind Division Headquarters. A good number of men followed the pair, acting as guards to ensure Chris' safety. Lily could not help but wonder what might actually happen should an attack occur. She was curious how long it would take Chris to cast her aside for his own good.

Chris was going on about something, and Lily nodded along as though she was paying attention even though she could not recall a single thing he'd said. As they turned a corner, Chris stopped talking when a man appeared in front of them. Lily recognized him from the night before, but said nothing as she turned her gaze away to look at the flowers near by.

"Jackson," Chris nodded to him as he tried to continue passed him with Lily at his side. Jackson, however, stepped back to remained in front of Chris. "Is there something you need?"

"I'd like to talk to you privately." Jackson requested, and Lily turned her eyes towards the two men. "It's about what you asked of me last night." Lily kept her gaze as carefree as she could while she stared at Jackson.

"Wait in my study, then." Chris responded and Jackson nodded. Before he turned away, he locked his eyes with Lily, and she couldn't shake the feeling of a threat behind his stare. Without words, he turned and continued down the path leading towards the building.

"What did you want from him?" Lily asked, sounding curious but not enough to cause suspicion.

"It's nothing, love." Chris answered as he turned to face her completely. He lifted his hands to touch her cheeks before h pressed his lips to hers. "I shall send for you later tonight."

"Won't you still walk with me?" Lily responded gently and Chris smile at her before he kissed her a second time.

"Another time." He answered before he released her and followed Jackson's path to the building, his guards following behind him. Lily waited a few moments in the gardens before she entered the building through another door further down from where Jackson and Chris had gone in.

Because of the time of day, only a few men were walking about the mansion. Most were carrying out various tasks Chris had appointed them to, and a few were finished. Due to Lily's place in Chris' hierarchal system, she had nothing to attend to during the morning and afternoon hours, so she knew she would not attract any attention as she made her way towards the staircase in the west wing.

Eventually, she reached Albus' door and knocked on the hard wood. She waited a few moments until Albus called back and she let herself into the room. He glanced up at her for a moment before he turned back to the open drawers of his dresser. Lily visited him often, and so he didn't think much of her presence until he heard the lock click shut behind her.

He paused for a moment before he continued to dig through the top drawer before safely tucking away the ring Ethan had presented him with a few days prior.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked as he turned to face her completely.

"What did Chris ask of you and Ethan?" Lily asked simply. Albus wanted to respond right away, but the look in Lily's eyes gave him pause.

Shaking it away, Albus answered. "He wants us to find the spy. Why?"

"I think I'm going to be framed as the spy." Lily replied, her voice floating softly through the air so that only Albus could hear her words. Albus didn't bother asking why she would think such a thing, but he knew Jackson was at the heart of it. In the silence, Albus drew in a deep breath as he began to think of the different possible futures the set of siblings may face.

Lily noticed how simply Albus took the news and though she preferred it to denial or arguing, she couldn't help but wonder what it said about them. She hadn't really noticed how desensitized they had become to hardship and unfavorable conditions until Albus stood quietly thinking of what to do for his little sister. The longer the thought festered, the more she wondered if James, Rose, and Hugo had been affected in a similar way or if the current state of herself and Albus was due to their places within Division.

Finally, Albus met Lily's eyes again and she knew she wouldn't like his response. "Do you think he would kill you?"

Lily sharply inhaled as she turned away from Albus and began to pace to the other side of the room. Albus, recognizing that Lily needed space to deal with the touchy topic, remained where he stood, fighting the instinct to follow and comfort her. He watched as she reached up to let her hair down from the tight bun on the back of her head. The way her hair fell looked natural, and yet Albus knew something was different. She used to have such vibrant hair but now they appeared far too dull to be on the head of arguably the most beautiful Weasley-Potter in the family.

"I don't know." Lily answered truthfully. "I can get some time, but ultimately, he's not very predictable. He's swayed easily. By me. By the other men. By everyone." Lily turned back to look at Albus and he knew she spoke the truth of Chris' nature. Chris might appear the dominate man he wanted so desperately to be, but those closest to him could see through his ruse.

"If you are framed, then everyone will stop looking." Albus replied and Lily nodded. Of course, she'd already thought of that. Albus tried his best not to dwell on the matter, but it always seemed to him that he was second to know compared to Lily, and even James. He definitely saw himself as the middle child between two extremes, and yet Lily and James hardly paid the matter attention.

"But there isn't a guarantee I can get out of here. And what about you? What will happen if I become the spy and you are my brother? You'll be questioned as well."

"There isn't anything to find on me."

"And what evidence is there to incriminate me?" Lily responded as she turned to narrow her eyes at him. "Whatever is needed to achieve the ultimate goal will be fabricated as we go. You know this, Albus. We've done this."

"Not to ourselves."

"Yes well, I've done my best to keep our places. If you'd like to march into Chris' bedchamber in the middle of the night, then by all means." Lily motioned to the door with one arm and Albus narrowed his eyes at her.

"If you run, you'll be branded as the spy immediately. No evidence necessary."

"And where will I go?" Lily responded. "I don't think I can just walk into the Ministry building."

"Where else is there?"

"The grave." Lily commented bitterly and Albus shut his eyes as he tried to ignore the words. As he focused on his breathing, Lily continued to walk up and down the room as she gazed at the small objects atop the shelves and dressers.

"We should tell Ethan."

"Tell him what?" Lily asked as she turned back.

"To tell James to expect you." Albus answered. "You have to go there if your plan is to leave."

"Why there? Why can't I just leave, Al? Go to the other side of the world or something." Lily muttered as she faced forward and stared at a random part of the wall.

"You'll be recognized anywhere you go. Everyone will know what you are."

"And what am I, then?" Lily demanded as she turned back to Albus. She knew she was being defensive and that he had not meant his comment the way she understood it, but she couldn't help it. "A traitor? A coward? What? Because the last time I checked, there weren't any moral codes anybody was abiding by when you followed me here."

"We both know why we came here." Albus responded strongly and Lily scoffed.

"I know why I came. You picked like you always do, Albus. James and I never agreed on anything and this wasn't any different. And you pick a side like you always have."

"That's not fair." Albus told her simply. His voice had lost its edge and the difference in his tone made Lily pause for a moment before she faced him again.

"Fair has nothing to do with it, Albus. Nothing is fair. What was fair? That you and James got to finish Hogwarts? That my entire life has been dedicated to his damn war? That everyone I've ever cared about other than you and James have been ripped from me?"

"You're not the only one who has lost people, Lily, and you'd do well to remember it."

"Now you sound like James chastising me." Lily responded strongly and Albus screwed his eyes shut. He had never known how difficult it was to argue without raising his voice, and yet Lily managed just fine with the noise constraints.

"Bridget was regrettable." Lily answered and Albus drew in a sharp breath. "And I would never make her death less than it was, but holding on won't change anything."

She kept her eyes on Albus, unsure if he was breaking or not. Eventually he opened his eyes and Lily could not help but feel as though he hadn't allowed himself to think of Bridget until Lily forced the thought upon his mind.

"And what you're doing then? Is that moving on?" Albus replied, clearing taking a defensive stance even if his voice did not show it. "I thought it was simply-"

"Don't." Lily warned and Albus turned away from her.

"And you're to tell me that you've let go? Of Scorpius?"

"I never said that." Lily answered and Albus peered at her again, surprised to see a vulnerable look across her face. The Lily he'd known for the last four years, the time they've spent with Division, had never been broken or even remotely affected by something as trivial as words. Now, at the mere mention of his name, Lily seemed to shatter the same way Albus had at the sound of Bridget's name.

"Then what?" Albus asked.

"You already followed me here, Albus. Stop making all my mistakes." Lily said simply before she reached up to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes. After straightening her back and flattening her dress, Lily walked towards the door and left the room without another word.

* * *

><p><em>I hope you're all enjoying this story so far! <em>

_Reading4Ever : I messaged you back on your first review some number of chapters ago, but it seems you never got my answer. Hopefully you've found this little note. Anyway, yes, the older generation will have a part in this story. You'll have to keep reading to find out ;)_

_Other than that, please don't favorite without reviewing. I put a lot of time into writing it, and its really nice to know what people think._


	13. Chapter 13

"How are the other infirmary rooms?" James asked curiously as he walked into Hugo's small makeshift office. On one side, a desk was pushed against the wall. On the other side, a small pot was used to brew various potions. In the far corner, a stack of muggle toys were in a box, though James doubted Kate played with any of them anymore.

"Coming along." Hugo answered as he looked up from the stack of papers on his desk. "Be faster if I had an assistant of some sort."

"I'd say ask Rose, but she's overwhelmed being my assistant." James answered and the two laughed. "Will they be ready in a week?"

"Yes." Hugo nodded. "Well, there will be room to bring a lot of people in at once, but I'm still the only real Healer. The others helping me can only do so much. We have beds for a lot of injured people, but most won't get any treatment for a day or so."

"That's ok." James answered. "If we're not too badly injured, Rose and I can help." James volunteered and Hugo nodded as he turned his attention back to the stack of papers. "What are you working on?"

"Trying to organize everything." Hugo answered. "Do we have any extra sheets laying around?" He asked curiously as he peered up at James again.

"Check storage on the top floor." James replied with a shrug.

Hugo nodded as he tried to focus again, but the sound of small footsteps running through the next room served as another distraction. "Hugo! Hugo! Hugo!" Kate's voice called out and Hugo turned to the door behind James. A few moments later, it swung open and Kate bounced into the room and squeezed around James to reach Hugo, sitting at the desk.

"Yes?" Hugo asked as Kate grabbed his arm, smiling brightly at him.

"You said you would be done today! You said you would play with me!"

"What happened to Kayla?" Hugo asked, referring to another young girl, who was around the same age as Kate, housed within the old Ministry building.

"She's not fun." Kate pouted as she pressed her lips together and Hugo smiled down at the girl.

"Do you want to help me then?"

Kate nodded enthusiastically as she pulled on Hugo's arm. James only laughed as he stepped to the side of the door way. Hugo picked up the stack of papers from his desk and held them under his arm as he let Kate lead him out of the office. James followed them out of the infirmary, but as Hugo and Kate turned down a hallway to go down a level, James continued forward to find Rose in the tactics room.

"Do we have an official list?" James asked as he let himself in. Edward and Rose were standing across the table from each other, but only Edward looked up at James.

"Yes." Rose answered as she continued to scribble on the pages spread out in front of her. After closing the door behind him, James approached the table and Rose lifted the top page from the stack and handed it to him.

"We'll have three groups of twenty attack first. Me, you, Rose, and a few others will go in after to go through the building." Edward summarized as James looked over the list of names. James nodded as he drew in a breath and handed the list back to Rose.

"Are you ok?" Rose asked as she stared at James, and he eventually turned to meet her gaze.

"Yes." James answered with a nod. "It's just a little different this time."

"I doubt Lily and Albus will be there." Rose responded and James nodded in agreement, though it did little to appease his nervousness.

"How far is Division Headquarters from that prison?" James asked curiously and Rose's eyebrow lifted.

"Rumor says they're connected underground. There's no way to prove this, though. Otherwise, it's about a ten minute fly I guess. I don't really know."

"Are you that worried?" Edward asked, but James didn't answer. Edward understood James' hesitance, but he was wise enough not to comment on it in any way that might upset James. Edward had already lost his brother, and never wanted the same fate for James. At the same time, there was only so much the two could do for Lily and Albus were seemed to be worlds away.

**X**

As Lily walked through the corridors of the building, she could feel more eyes on her than ever before. Ignoring them, she held her head high as she walked down the steps of the staircase as gracefully as she always had. Turning the corner, she almost ran into Ethan, but he quickly stepped out of her way and continued in his direction without even acknowledging her presence. She knew something had happened concerning her, and decided to continue forward towards the main hall of the mansion.

As she stepped into the room, it had almost fallen silent, much like the way it did whenever Chris entered. Lily met the odd stares from all the men with her own cold stare as she walked through the room. She spotted Albus in the far corner, but she didn't near him. She knew exactly what had happened, and she knew associating with Albus risked his cover as well.

"Lily," Chris' cold voice moved through the silent room easily enough, and she turned to stare at him across the room. "Glad you could come."

"I didn't know there was anything to come to." Lily answered and Chris scowled at her witty nature, even if he had once been in awe of it.

"I'd like to speak to you."

"I'm sure you would." Lily answered and Chris' face darkened as he stared her down. "I'm busy right now, though."

"Now, Lily." Chris responded and Lily let out a dry laugh as she took a few steps closer to Chris so that she was in the center of the room. Her black dress naturally reached the floor but she lifted it up with one hand as she stepped. Her hair was pulled up as it usually was, but Chris seemed to see something different in her. Lily doubted he knew it had been there all along, for she rarely gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"In a moment. I'm famished." Lily responded, still holding his gaze and daring to argue with him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man take a step in her direction and withdraw his wand from his pocket. Lily pressed her arm against her body to feel for her wand hidden in the long sleeve of the dress, she never pulled her wand unless she needed it.

"I said now." Chris attempted to keep his place as the authority figure, but Lily, and Albus as well, could see it starting shatter at Lily's words.

"I heard you." Lily answered. "If you're that aroused, I suggest sending for one of your call girls. Merlin knows they would be more than happy to pretend you're a decent lover."

At the comment, Chris had immediately turned away from Lily and his men, but to distract from his embarrassment, the man nearing Lily had pointed his wand at her. The other men had drawn their wands as well, but Lily was much faster than they had given her credit for. Within moments, the first man's wand flew across the room and she casted a simple spell to remove him from the space around her. As the other men began to close around her, she did what she could to fight them off, knowing there was no way she could win without help.

"Stop!" Chris' voice echoed and resonated throughout the room, and everyone had fallen still, except Lily. She still held onto her wan, pointed at the head of the man nearest to her. "You're the spy, Lily, and I already have the proof. Give it up."

Lily's smile was enough to anger Chris, but he did his best not to let it show. He simply could not fathom how he could be so foolish and let a spy get so close to the inner workings of everything he'd worked so hard to create.

"Or what, Chris?" Lily responded as she lowered her wand and stepped towards him again. Only ten feet separated them, and Chris stood tall before her. Nonetheless, most of the men in the room could feel the power Lily held over him. "What will you do to me? You can't do anything to me. You won't."

"Don't tempt me." Chris warned as he lifted his wand, and Lily's laugh echoed through the silent room.

"Go ahead and kill me then." Lily said as she started to take steps in his direction. One step at a time, she closed the distance between them, and as she neared him, she spotted his wand shaking more and more. Eventually, she reached out and pushed his hand to his side, his wand falling down to his side. As she took another step closer, she put one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder as she leaned into his ear. "You don't have proof of anything, Chris, and you know it. So why don't you be a man and make a decision for yourself?"

Angered, Chris pushed Lily away from him, but her grace kept her from stumbling. The sly smile across his lips enraged him even more, but Lily held it there all the same.

"If you wanted to make an example out of me, all you had to do was ask." Lily said simply, her comment insinuating more damage than Chris was able to repair immediately. Before he could respond, Lily walked calmly to his side, then passed him to exit the room through the door he used privately to reach his private rooms.

Chris remained in the silent main hall for a moment longer before he followed Lily through the doorway. The men left behind remained perfectly silent for sometime, and Albus could not help but feel Lily had started to break The Division from within using just a few well selected words and clever meanings. He knew he couldn't help her anymore. After she'd disappeared through the doorway, she'd eliminated any help from her brother. She had done him right by not looking in his direction or even noticing him, but he wasn't foolish enough to think he was safe from Lily's fall from grace. He hoped the search for traitors would end with Lily, but he could not be sure of his own safety.

Lily walked ahead of Chris, almost as though she was in charge, but she knew her time at Division had come to an abrupt end and she was only pretending to be in control for the sake of aggravating Chris. IF Chris had already been convinced of her guilt, Lily knew she had only a few moments left to execute some kind of plan and take whatever punishment Chris has been convinced to hand out.

Since he did not stop or direct her, Lily continued down the hallway, holding her hands in front of her as she slipped her wand back up her sleeve. Once she reached the double doors of Chris' private chamber, she paused and peered over her shoulder to see him nod. Turning forward again, Lily turned the handle on the door and walked into the room, Chris trailing behind. He shut the door behind him and Lily heard the click of the lock before she turned back to him.

Knowing she'd already said more than her fair share, Lily opted for silence as Chris stared at her. He took slowly calculated steps towards her, almost as though he was frightened of her, and considered her outburst in the main hall, she was convinced such behavior was warranted.

"How could you do this to me?" Chris demanded. Lily heard the shakiness in his tone of voice that he attempted to conceal. He had never been a man of concrete strength, and even as he accused Lily of spying for her brother, that hadn't changed.

"Does it matter?" Lily responded, and though she hadn't used a sarcastic tone, Chris had reached for her and spun her around to put her against the wall. The force alone had been enough to injure her, but Lily was mostly surprised at the attack. Of all the things Chris was, he had never been violent, at least not to her.

Calmly, Lily drew in a breath as she felt Chris's hand move to her neck in an attempt to hold her in place. He hadn't drawn his wand yet, and Lily knew that if he did, she could deal with him without any serious problem. At least, she could severely injure him without suffering any real harm herself. The problem would come afterward when she attempted to escape a building meant to protect against intruders, and as a result, did not allow anyone to sneak out either.

"Let's go." Chris said sharply as he finally drew his wand and waved it in the direction of the far corner. Lily turned to watch a section of the floor disappear to reveal a set of staircases leading below the building. Lily knew it was one of the secret passages Chris had built into the building as a byproduct of is paranoia.

With his wand pointed in her back, Lily walked to the staircase and slowly descended until they reached the bottom. Staring out, she saw the passage way continued in one direction for what appeared to be a great while.

Using his wand to light the way, Chris motioned Lily to start walking, and he followed close behind her. She noticed he had opted out of his usual two accompanying guards, but she hadn't yet figured out why. A sudden boost in self confidence seemed unlikely, and Lily hoped Chris knew she was a much better dueler than he could ever be. He also hadn't stripped her of her wand, but she doubted if he'd noticed that yet.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked and Chris shoved her in the back instead of answered. It felt like a long while that they walked in silence, but eventually a set of stairs came into view. Lily drew in a deep breath as Chris waved his wand and the opening at the top of the stairs appeared. Slowly, she stepped up the stairs, Chris right behind her.

Lily had meant to protest against her accusation once they reached the end of the long passageway, but as she looked around the place the passage way had lead her, she found she no words to speak. She even felt tears starting to form behind her eyes, and no matter how hard she tried to rid herself of them, she could not.

"Nothing to say now?" Chris mocked as though her could read her mind. She heard his comment, but Lily did not respond as she kept her eyes on the small prison cells lining opposite walls of the room the stairs lead to.

In one cell on her right, she recognized the man staring back at her, but part of her refused to believe the sight before her. His face was dirty and scared, his clothes ripped and torn. His body was much smaller than it should be for his height, but his were perfectly clear. Scorpius' eyes were as a clear as clean water as they always had been.

A huff of air escaped her lips as she forced her eyes to the other nearby cells. In the cell behind Scorpius' was another man, but his hair was grey. His face showed signs of age as well, but Lily recognized his eyes. They were the exact same shade as Scorpius'. Across from him was a older woman, whose pitch black hair had not lost its vibrancy, even though her eyes had lost all hope. In the fourth cell on Lily's left was a younger woman, perhaps around Lily's own age, but her eyes were bright and her face was full of emotion.

As a tear rolled down Lily's cheek, Chris pushed her forward again and she slowly turned back to him.

"How could you betray me!" Chris demanded and Lily scoffed at him.

"You? Why should you matter at all to me?" Lily responded. She hadn't mean to confirm herself as the spy, but after seeing Scorpius as his parents, she had forgotten any plan she might've devised moments ago. "You're just some stuck up little brat who's still crying about your father."

"They stole him from me!" Chris' voice took on a new level of volume Lily had never heard from him before, but she remained completely unaffected.

"And what did you do in return? You ruined my life! My brothers, my parents. My entire family is destroyed because your father was insane. Tell what part of that is fair, Christopher. Is my father alive?"

"I don't know." Chris sneered and Lily stepped towards him.

"Is my father alive!" Lily yelled at him as she pushed his wand to the side, despite his attempts to keep it up. "You kept them alive. Where is mine? What did you do to them?"

"I didn't anything to your parents, Lily." He answered as he pushed her back and lifted his wand again. In response, Lily drew her wand as well and watched as Chris took a step back from her. He tried to hide it, but Lily could see the fear in his eyes.

"I don't believe you. You've destroyed everything because you think you're entitled. And entitled to what, exactly? What is it you want? You've destroyed an entire government and for what? War? Because you think this is how everyone should live their lives? With a meek like brat pretending as king? There's a reason you've kept me around Chris, and it has nothing to do with you. You're easy to manipulate and play to everyone else's agenda."

"You don't know what talking about!"

"You think I loved you?" Lily responded, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scorpius turn away as he moved as far away from her as he could within the confinements of his cell. "At all?"

"No! You're a traitor!"

"To who? To you? To my brother? To myself?" Lily responded. "To who, Chris? Who deserves my loyalty?"

"Stop!" Chris demanded as he lunged at her, but she casted a spell in her defensive. He quickly flew across the room and struck the back wall. She saw him move, but before anything else could happen, a loud crash from above distracted her.

"What did you do!" Chris demanded, but Lily ignored him as she stared at the ceiling until she turned her attention to the far side of the room, opposite of where Chris had landed. Behind her, she heard shuffling, and when she turned back, she saw Chris had escaped to the passage way and the piece of floor had already sealed over.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Lily turned to Scorpius' cell and held her wand at the lock.

"It's not going to work." Scorpius' voice was different and Lily met his eyes. It had been so long that she couldn't recognized the look across his face so she focused again on the lock. She tried a few rudimentary unlocking spells, but none seemed to work.

"Please tell me you're not our only hope." The younger woman on the other side of the room quipped and Lily turned back at her with narrowed eyes.

"And who are you to making snide comments?" Lily snapped back, her collected manner returning to her. Before the dark haired woman could respond, Lily turned back to Scorpius' cell and a green spell left her wand tip. The lock exploded into pieces, and the door swung open.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked as he stared at her, still standing in his cell.

Lily started to answer, but a second crash sounded from above, but it sounded as though it had gotten much closer. "We might be able to get out." Lily finally said as she turned and broke the lock on Draco Malfoy's cell. She turned to Astoria Malfoy's cell third, then sneered at the fourth woman.

"Lily." Scorpius' voice sounded harsh and with a smirk, Lily broke her lock as well. As they turned to the other side of the room, a third crash occurred, but it sounded more like an explosion. The ceiling on that side of the room had started to fall in, and the four prisoners had all jumped at the sound. Lily remained unaffected as she started to near that side of the room, but paused when a figure started to descend the stairs near the growing hole in the ceiling. Immediately, Lily drew her wand and started to step back, but as the figure continued, James' face came into view.

"James." Lily's voice sounded more pleading as he reached the last steps and looked at the scene before him. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" He replied before he became distracted by the people behind her. "Scorpius."

"What's going on?" Lily asked and James whistled sharply before turning back to her.

"We attacked here today." He answered. "Why are you here?"

"I've been framed as your spy." Lily replied and James' face softened at his little sister's face. He pressed his lips against her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her, and the tears she'd pushed back before had slipped out.

"Now you're with us then," James answered as he brushed her tears away with his thumb. Moments later, Edward and Rose came down the stairs, both awe struck by the people in the most bottom rooms of the prison.


	14. Chapter 14

After arriving at the Ministry building, James quickly had Hugo make room for Scorpius, his parents, and the fourth woman, whose name he had learned to be Abigail Cameron. Though James had wanted Hugo to check Lily as well, her presence had generated a response James had hoped would not be stirred. After the first few people attempted to attack Lily, but failed because even as a so called traitor, Lily was a far more talented witch than most others, James secluded Lily to his bedroom and Edward was to report there as soon as Hugo cleared him. Until then, James sat in the room with her.

"Are you ok?" James asked as he stared across the room at her. He had moved a spare bed into his room for Lily, unsure of how long she would have to stay with him. Once a majority of people had returned to the Ministry building after quiet a successful attack, James and Rose were told that enough rooms had not been cleared out to house all the prisoners they had released.

"Physically?" Lily responded as she raised her eyes to meet his.

"Sure, we can start there." James answered. He constantly reminded himself that Lily was still his baby sister, and yet as they sat across a room from one another, he felt tension. He wanted to believe that tension between siblings, at least siblings as close as he, Albus, and Lily had once been, could not feel tension. Slowly, James was starting to realize that he could not hold on to delusions about Lily and Albus for much longer.

"I'm fine." Lily's voice tore him from his thoughts as he nodded.

"Emotionally?" James continued and Lily immediately turned away. "Eventually, you'll have to tell someone, Lily." James told her simply. "About who we're at war with, if nothing else."

"If you those kind of responses, just as away." Lily replied as she turned back to him. "I'll tell you whatever you want, but being there is a hell of a lot harder than being here. At least I thought so."

"People will adjust and accept you eventually." James assured her as he stood from his bed and crossed the room.

"It's not that, James." Lily told him as he sat beside her.

"Scorpius?"

"He knows." Lily said simply as she kept her eyes fixed on a single point on the ground beneath her dangling feet. "He vaguely knows at least. Chris… Adler and I argued in front of them."

"So it was true?" James asked and Lily turned up at him, the tears in her eyes making her eyes glisten.

"A year ago, a spy started operating out of Division Headquarters. I didn't know at the time that it was Ethan, and I feared that Albus or I would be framed for it because of who we were. So I made sure that we couldn't be touched by any one because we were always in his favor. I always thought that if one of us was going to fall, it would be Albus, because of who I was to him. I never thought somebody could manipulate him better than I could."

"You didn't love him." James commented and Lily shook her head. She wanted to be mad that her own brother could think such a thing of her, but she knew that James had only rumors about her and Albus to know about them.

"If he loves anyone, it's himself." Lily said simply as she turned away from James. "He's paranoid all of the time. He thinks somebody will try and kill him at any given moment. He trusts nobody, not really. And he definitely doesn't make the decisions. He's the one you want if you want to bring down Division because it'll upset the delicate balance, but if it doesn't collapse within a few months of removing Chris Adler, then you'll need another spy to find who's behind Chris."

"You don't think he's at the top?"

"I think he thinks he's at the top." Lily answered. "But this is a man who is so impressionable that any of those men at Division who actually fear him are just stupid. Albus knows how to play his cards well enough, but if it falls while he's still there, he might try to retain his place for a moment too long."

"We can get him out, Lily."

"You couldn't get me out." Lily retorted as she faced him again.

"I never said I could. But I can get Albus out when he'd by himself and you're not there coaching him on everything." Lily actually smiled as she turned away from James. He put his arm around her waist before he kissed her temple gently.

"Is it possible to penetrate the walls of Division Headquarters?" James asked as he pulled back from his sister and she peered up at him.

"No. Not with a spell. The wards are all placed within the physical wall. Once those fall, you can go in and out as you please."

"How do we destroy the walls, then?"

"A fire, I suppose." Lily answered with a shrug. "Set from the inside though. You'll never get close enough to do so from the outside." James only nodded in response. Before the conversation could continue, a knock at the door sounded through the room. James called for them to enter, and Edward, accompanied with Hugo, entered the room.

Hugo was holding a muggle clipboard with a stack of papers beneath his arm, and his wand in his other hand. Beside him, Edward was carrying a small bin which contained a collection of in different sizes and filled with different liquids.

"Hugo." Lily smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he neared her. Hugo set his clipboard on the bed behind her before he hugged her back.

"How do you feel?" He asked as she pulled back from and sat on the bed again.

"I've definitely been better." Lily answered and Hugo only nodded. She sensed he'd heard a similar response several times before.

"No wounds?" He asked, and Lily shook her head. "Scratches?"

"Maybe a few." She answered as she lifted the bottom of her shirt to reveal a long scratch across her middle. She couldn't remember how she had gotten it, but she had found it after James had taken her back to the Ministry building and she was given a chance to bathe.

"You should be physically fine, but you already knew that." Hugo told her as he casted a simple healing spell on the scratch and reached for the potions Edward was carrying. "Having trouble sleeping?"

"I haven't slept since we got here." Lily answered and Hugo drew in a deep breath as he nodded. "Is that what everyone else is saying to?"

"I'll add you to the list for a sleeping aid." Hugo told her as he picked up his clipboard and began to write on the top page. "If it's really bad, I can move you up."

"I'm fine." Lily responded and Hugo met her eyes. For a moment, it was silent as Hugo stared at his cousin. He had always been the one most attuned to his sister and cousins, but he found that Lily had somehow become colder over the last four years that he had not seen her. It made it difficult to see anything in her face and eyes.

"Where are you staying?" Hugo finally asked and Lily turned to James. Hugo looked to James as well, and James only shook his head.

"How many people have you dismissed from the infirmary?" James asked and Hugo started to flip the pages on his clipboard as he searched for his list of patients.

"Almost everyone who you took with you," Hugo answered as he peered up. "Anyone you brought back from the prison I'm keeping for at least a few days. I've got them all on four meals a day to get their weight up. The majority of them are fine otherwise, but a few have problems that… I can only help with physical wounds." Hugo admitted and James could hear the helplessness masked in Hugo's voice.

"Who's the worst, would you say?" James asked and Hugo drew in another breath.

"Scorpius. He's asking a lot of questions that I don't know the answers to. He won't sleep at all. He has to have a candle or illumination spell at all times. He wants to see you Lily, but I told him he needed to rest before you two got into any kind of fight in my infirmary." Hugo said as he faced Lily, but she turned her gaze away. He'd meant to make her smile, but he was quickly realizing that the Lily in front of him was the same one who had left four years prior.

"Well, for right now Lily will stay here." James answered. "Within the next week, we'll have the fifth floor cleared out and furnished for more people, so around then you can start picking which ones can go without you."

"What do you know about Abigail Cameron?" Hugo asked, suddenly changing the subject and James paused as he tried to think of where he'd heard the name before. At the time of learning her name, he'd been far too concerned with many other things and simply passed her on to Hugo's care. Now, as Hugo asked, James knew the name sounded familiar.

"Why?" Lily asked with narrowed eyes and Hugo met her stare.

"She's quite the fighter." Hugo answered as a slight smile crossed his lips. "And has a way with words not many others do."

"Cameron was the name of the Auror the last Minister's daughter married just before everything collapsed." Lily answered and James turned to her. "I don't remember the girl's name."

"You think she's the Minister's daughter?" Edward asked and Lily didn't respond.

"Explains why she was kept with Scorpius and his parents." James added and Edward was inclined to agree. "I know the Minister was killed, but none of his family was ever accounted for."

"Well, whoever she is, she's got a sharp tongue." Hugo said with a laugh. "And she's requesting a room for herself once I release her. Draco and Astoria Malfoy want a room together, obviously."

"Ok, I'll let Rose know so we can make room." James said. "What about Scorpius?"

"He doesn't want to be released." Hugo answered. "If he still feels that way in a week, I'll talk to him about it again and see what I can get from him."

"Thank you, Hugo." James responded and Hugo simply nodded. "Will you need Edward for the rest of the day?"

"I'll need somebody for the rest of Kate's nap." Hugo answered and James laughed. "I'm looking for some help, but not many people are qualified to do anything but make potions. And that's limited by space."

"I remember Scorpius' mother being considered to teach Transfigurations at Hogwarts a long time ago." James commented. "Maybe you should ask her if she can make a few more cauldrons for you. And if you need a designated Potions lab, Rose and I will see what we can do."

"Thanks for the tip, James." Hugo responded with a smile before he hugged Lily once more and turned to leave the room. Edward, carrying the box of potions, followed behind and James and Lily were left alone once more.


	15. Chapter 15

The biggest room assigned to the infirmary used to be a long meeting hall used by the Ministry officials. As such, the room was much longer than wide, allowing a number of beds to be pushed up against two walls with enough space for a walk way down the center. Each bed was separated from the others with a hanging curtain, but only the patients suffering from less severe injuries were placed in this room. As such, Abigail Cameron, Scorpius, and his parents were along one wall of the room. The curtains were drawn around Scorpius' and Abigail's beds, but Draco and Astoria were enjoying each other's company at the far end of the room as Hugo approached them.

"How are you sleeping?" Hugo asked curiously and the older couple looked up at him. He noticed they appeared to be in much better spirits than before, but a darkness of some sort still hung over them.

"Better, Hugo." Astoria answered sweetly and Hugo smiled at her as he approached the side of her bed. He gently took hold of her arm to peer at the long gash wound he hadn't been able to heal immediately. As he pulled the bandage back, he saw the wound had healed a bit, but still was too wide for him to feel comfortable healing. He quickly changed the bandage before he peered over at Draco.

"You look like you haven't slept in a week." Draco commented and Hugo smiled.

"That sounds about right." Hugo answered as Draco peeled his shirt over his head so that Hugo could look at the bandaged wound on his shoulder.

"Did you train at St. Mugo's, Hugo?" Astoria asked curiously as he watched Hugo cast a spell to heal Draco's much smaller wound. Hugo laughed as he finished and turned back to Astoria, a warm smile across his face.

"No, I didn't." He answered as he shook his head.

"You're a very talented Healer. You're a lot like your mother." Astoria commented and Hugo's eyes seemed to brighten.

"I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts when the Ministry collapsed. James and Scorpius had to come to Hogwarts to get Lily and I, because The Division had shut down around Hogwarts. Afterwards, Scorpius stayed with Lily and I in a safe house in muggle London until we were eighteen. James didn't want us to take part in any battles until were older, so during those two years, Lily and Scorpius trained and I learned how to heal wounds and brew potions."

"I didn't know it had happened so early." Astoria admitted as he face fell, but Hugo retained his smile.

"A lot of things happened." Hugo answered. "But I wouldn't worry. James won't let you get taken again even if he has to chain you to the wall." Astoria let herself laugh, and Hugo smiled even brighter. He was glad to know that after so many years in Division's prison she still could smile and laugh. As Hugo turned to Draco, he saw the look at adoration across his face, knowing Draco had felt the same way about Astoria's laughter.

"He's taken care of you very well then." Astoria commented and Hugo nodded.

"We're all we have left now." Hugo answered as his smile faltered. "It's just Rose and I, and James, Albus, Scorpius and Lily left."

"Scorpius?" Draco repeated and Hugo nodded as he turned to him. The confusion across Draco's face made Hugo realize they had no idea what had happened to their young son so many years ago. Of course, Hugo had been just a small child, but he knew the story as others had told it to him.

"He came to live with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny." Hugo answered. He was unable to read the looks across their faces as they heard what had happened to Scorpius, but he continued cautiously anyway. "I don't know why, but we were all told that he was going to be part of our family now and that was it. James got grounded almost every day for picking on him, but Albus and Scorpius got along really well. So did Rose."

"But why?" Astoria asked and Hugo only stared back at her.

"Hugo, let it go." Scorpius' voice carried through the thin sheets. A few moments later, Scorpius pulled the sheet open and looked at his parents, neither of whom could understand what had happened.

"You went to live with the Potters?" Draco asked and Scorpius nodded.

"The day you went missing, I was with Aunt Andy, and I was playing with Teddy when she came in and she was crying and she was the one who told me. I didn't really understand what she was saying, but she said that I was going to stay with her for then on and I started yelling and crying and I didn't understand why you'd left me behind. So she took me back to the manor to get my things and Harry and Ginny were there as well to confirm that you were missing. We were attacked by some men and Andy was killed. And I remember Ginny picked me up and they took me home with them, and that was it." Scorpius told the story, sounding as though there was no emotion attached to the words, but Hugo knew there was.

"You were supposed to go to your grandmother." Draco said and Scorpius shook his head.

"She left." Scorpius answered. "I haven't heard from her since the last time you took me to see her. So I just went to the first people who offered to take me. And I didn't know why or what was happening. I was mad at you my whole life for leaving me." Scorpius admitted and Hugo quickly turned away and closed the curtains around them as he left them alone.

"We didn't want to ever leave you." Astoria said as tears had started to form in her eyes.

"I didn't know that until the Ministry fell." Scorpius answered. "And I was already seventeen then. I'd already graduated Hogwarts as Scorpius Potter. I didn't change my name back until we learned what had happened to you, and by then, nobody thought you were alive anymore."

"You took the Potter name?" Draco asked and Scorpius nodded slowly, the guilt showing across his face.

"They were the only parents I had, then. They didn't tell me much, and they were right not to. They didn't tell any of us a lot of things."

"From the sound of that, I'm assuming you figured it out already." Draco commented and Scorpius lowered his eyes.

"Albus, and I served the longest detention in Hogwarts' history for getting caught in the restricted section reading the history books." Scorpius admitted and looked up when he heard his mother's stifled laugh. "We wouldn't have been caught if Albus had put out the light." Scorpius added defensively and Astoria let the laugh pass.

"You read about the Second War, then?" Draco asked, obviously far less amused by the story than Astoria.

"Yeah," Scorpius answered as he looked to his father. He could see Draco slowly pulling his left sleeve down, but over the last four years, Scorpius and Draco knew he'd already seen the mark.

"Well, everyone made mistakes." Draco answered and Scorpius began to shake his head.

"You don't owe me an explanation." Scorpius responded and Draco actually smiled as he looked away from his son. He could not help but see the remarkable similarities between their situations. Draco had been about the same age Scorpius had been when their respective wars began. The glaring difference, however, was that Draco had gone out and gotten his arm marked for life. Scorpius, raised by the Potters, had picked and stayed on the right side even though all the losses. Draco had always wanted to know if he'd raised a good man, even if he hadn't been there through all the birthdays, and clearly he had.

"Why did you never tell us until now?" Astoria asked, her face suddenly going somber as Scorpius turned his attention to his mother.

"If we were going to die there I wasn't going to tell you that I spent most of life hating you for something you didn't do." Scorpius answered, but realized he hadn't picked the right words. Astoria had turned away from him, but he saw the tear that had gotten passed her eyes. Stepping towards her, Scorpius put his arm around her shoulders and pressed his lips to her cheek. He didn't realize what he was doing, but Astoria and Draco knew right away that it was the first time he'd kissed either of his parents in years.

After stepping away, Scorpius returned to his bed, and Hugo came to his side with his unfailing warm smile. Scorpius actually smiled back at him as Hugo changed Scorpius' bandages.

"I got you a sleeping potion." Hugo said as he pulled the small vial from his pocket and set it on Scorpius' bed stand.

"I don't want it." Scorpius responded immediately and Hugo sighed.

"You need some sleep, Scorpius."

"I don't want to sleep."

"Why?" Hugo asked and Scorpius turned away from him to focus on the curtain hanging across from his bed. Hugo sighed as he peered down to mark on the papers where he logged his patients' information. "Well, who will you talk to then, Scorpius?"

"I want to know how long we were there." Scorpius answered as he turned to Hugo.

"Four years." Hugo replied as he pulled over a stool to sit beside Scorpius' bed. The curtain dividing Scorpius' bed area from his mother's was still open, so Astoria and Draco were listening and watching Hugo as well.

"So how old am I?"

"I don't know." Hugo answered. "I don't remember the exact day you went missing."

"And Albus? Where is he?"

"Scorpius, I'm the Healer." Hugo said as he stood up. "I don't know anything about these types of things." He shrugged as he tried to walk away, but Scorpius reached out and took hold of his wrist. Even for Scorpius' lack of muscular definition, he managed to get a good grip on Hugo.

"James used to tell you everything. Don't lie to me, Hugo." Scorpius said strongly and Hugo sighed as he neared Scorpius again.

"I can't be the one to tell you. You need to talk to Lily and James about it, Scorpius. Nobody talks about it anymore, and with Lily back, it's getting difficult to keep peace around here. Just don't listen to any of the stories going around, ok? It's all lies." Hugo assured him and Scorpius scoffed.

"Tell me about Lily." Scorpius said and Hugo shook his head as his eyes filled with guilt.

"I can't." He answered.

"Was she really with Division?"

"Scorpius, please." Hugo sighed as he sat on Scorpius bed and looked at him. "I've never lied to anyone, and I'm telling you that it's best to talk to James and Lily about it. You have to believe me."

"You're the easiest one to hear bad news from, though." Scorpius answered and Hugo actually laughed as Scorpius wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Their foreheads touched much like when they, Albus, and James had fought with one another as children. The two laughed as they hugged before Hugo pulled away. Neither noticed Astoria smiling at the two men who could easily pass of as brothers. Draco, however, stared at the two with mixed emotions. He was glad for his son, but still had not yet accepted the circumstances that had brought Scorpius to the Potters and Weasleys.

"In a few weeks, if they still can't talk to you, I'll tell you and Albus." Hugo promised. "But I won't say anything about Lily. You and her have to talk that one out yourselves."

"Is it that bad?" Scorpius asked.

"I supposed that depends on whether or not you'd actually proposed to her." Hugo responded and Scorpius felt his face flash red when he noticed his parents staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Why exactly would you ask that?" Scorpius asked and Hugo began to turn red as well.

"Well, we had to put stuff into storage after everything and accidently dropped her jewelry box and she had a really nice diamond ring."

"Maybe it's her mothers." Scorpius suggested.

"James' has Aunt Ginny's. Rose has my Mum's."

"Hugo." Scorpius groaned as he shook his head and Hugo understood what Scorpius had wanted him to say. "Are you incapable of lying?"

"Yes." He answered as his face turned even redder than it had been before.

"Can you ask Lily to come down here?" Scorpius changed the subject and Hugo only nodded as he turned to walk away and Scorpius slowly turned to his parents. "Don't ask me."

"Did you?"

"Mum," Scorpius groaned as he fell back on his bed. "I just said, don't ask me."

"So you were with Lily Potter?" She asked and Scorpius sighed as he faced her. "Before, I mean."

"I will answer one question." Scorpius bargained.

"Did you ask her to marry you?" Draco asked and Scorpius turned away.

"Not that one." Scorpius answered.

"It's ok if you did, Scorpius." Astoria assured him, but she didn't understand. Scorpius had remembered clearly what Lily and Christopher Adler had argued about in front of him and his parents. In light of what she had been doing for the last four years, Scorpius did not want to reveal to full extent of his relationship with Lily to his parents. At least not until he could talk to her himself.


	16. Chapter 16

Scorpius was laying back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The curtains were drawn around his bed, and he could hear the soft laughter floating through the thin sheets from his left where his mother's bed was. He figured his parents were doing something he didn't want to be part of, so he ignored it as best he could. On his right, he heard the rhythmic sound of turning pages. Abigail Cameron was reading a book of some sort. Since they'd been in the Ministry building, he hadn't really spoken to Abigail, even though she was hardly any farther away than she had been the last four years.

Breaking him from his thoughts, he heard footsteps echoing through the room. He thought it was Hugo at first, but then he heard James' voice.

"Are you the Minister's daughter?" James' voice was direct as he stopped at the end of Abigail's bed. He hadn't seen her since he took her out of the prison, so she looked remarkable healthier than he last remembered.

Abigail peered up over the top of her book and narrowed her eyes at James. Standing to the side and behind a step, Rose held a clipboard holding some papers. "You've got to be kidding me." Abigail's sharp words didn't sound as sweetly as one would expect, but James wasn't affected by the tone.

"Did it sound like a joke of some kind?" James responded, and Abigail returned her eyes to the page she had been reading. As though ignoring him, she continued to read until she finished the page. She marked the corner before she shut the book and set it on her bed stand. Slowly, she returned her attention to James, who had not been entertained in the slightest.

"Look, he kept you that far down in the prison for some reason." James said strongly and Abigail only shrugged. "And Lily remembers a daughter marrying an Auror named Cameron just before the Ministry fell. Was that you or not?"

"Your traitorous sister can remember a last name but not a first?" Abigail responded and James groaned.

"She made mistakes, but none of us owe you any answers." James snapped. "The way I remember it, she broke you out and we rescued you. If you have a different version of events, feel free to complain about it when I'm not here. In the meantime, are you the Minister's daughter or not?"

"What difference does it make to you?" She replied. "So you can use me for your advantage?"

"No." James responded strongly. "If you want to stay here, then we will get you a room as soon as one is available and Hugo clears you. If you don't want to stay here, then by all means leave. But I want to know what the rooms behind the courtrooms are for. If you're the Minister's daughters, then you have to know. We need to know what else is in this building and we can't risk going down without knowing what to expect."

"I don't know what those rooms are." Abigail finally answered calmly as she reached for her book.

"That's it?" James snapped and Abigail met his gaze. "Are you the last Minister's daughters or not?"

"It doesn't matter. The point is, is that I don't know anything about those rooms. That was your question, wasn't it?" Abigail answered and before James could responded, Scorpius pulled open the curtain separating his bed space from Abigail's.

"I know what those rooms are." Scorpius said simply and James narrowed his eyes at him. "Your dad took me there once. During the summer between my first and second year at Hogwarts."

"What's there?"

"Records." Scorpius answered. "Tons of records. Shelves for miles. Why? What do you think it's for?"

"Why did he take you?"

"To change my name." Scorpius answered. "There was a records clerk there. He managed all the records, all the files. I think it was where they could access the Trace if they wanted. The one on all underage wizards and witches."

James went quiet for a moment before he looked to Rose.

"What?" Scorpius asked when James' face twisted in thought.

"Does the Trace automatically remove itself when you become of age, or does it have to be manually lifted?"

"I don't know." Rose admitted and Scorpius shook his head.

"Why?" Scorpius asked.

"Where was the office for Improper Use of Magic?" James asked.

"Second floor." Abigail answered without looking up from her book. "Above the ground, I mean."

James groaned as he looked to Rose. "What are you thinking?"

"What if we could implement a Trace on anyone? Could we do that? Could we Trace Albus' wand? Or Adler's?"

"The Trace has to be implemented and lifted by a magistrate within the court." Draco's voice carried through the room. James shut the front of Abigail's curtains while Scorpius closed the side. The three then moved to the far end of the room where they found Astoria and Draco sitting up in their respective beds, the curtain pulled open between them.

"So how would we implement a Trace?"

"One that they wouldn't notice on their own wand?" Draco asked and James nodded. "You'd need a skilled officer from Improper Magic. Or a high official in the court system."

"Well, for argument's sakes, they're all dead." James responded dryly, for everyone knew someone Draco was describing was not accessible if they were alive.

"Then you'd need a strong enough witch or wizard. I would recommend that whomever you choose practice on your own wand before attempting it on someone in Division."

"How powerful?" James asked.

"Very." Draco answered.

James went quite again as he looked to Rose. "Lily?" He asked and Rose scoffed as she turned away. James rolled his eyes at the petty argument between the two women. "Well do you have any better suggestions?"

"I can do that." Astoria said sweetly and James turned to her.

"You have to be clear by Hugo before we can register a spare wand." He said and Draco rose an eye brow at James.

"You do realize she can send through the roof without a wand, right?" Draco warned and James only narrowed his eyes at Astoria curiously.

"Could you transform a few things into spare cauldrons for Hugo?" James asked and Astoria laughed.

"I haven't used any magic for a very long time, James." She admitted and James nodded.

"Well, when you're up for it, let him know." James said before he turned to Rose. "Go ask Lily if she wants to give it a try. And get me a few people willing to go down to the seventh floor. I want to see this room."

"It connects to the next building down there." Draco commented and James turned to him with surprise. "You do you know that, right?"

"Draco, darling, I don't think they remember the Ministry building nearly as well as we do." Astoria said as she turned to Draco.

"What building?" James asked as he pulled over a seat. Scorpius sat on the edge of his bed, and Rose sat beside him.

"On one side of the courts is that room you saw, Scorpius. The one where they keep all the records about everyone's underage years. Unfortunately some are much thicker than others. On the other side it connects to the building that was built as a safe house. Originally to use to hold criminals during the time after the Second War. Once Adler became a big threat to the Ministry, it was converted to a place the Ministry workers could escape to if anything were to happen and they couldn't get above ground quickly enough."

"How long would they have been equipped to survive down there?" James asked and Draco shook his head.

"It wasn't a place to hide." Astoria clarified. "It was a list of safe areas any high official of the Ministry could go to at any time with their family and be safe from whatever attack came at them. Our second home was a safe house we set aside for that purpose."

"What second home?" Scorpius asked and Astoria turned to him with only a faint smile.

"It's in Ireland." She answered. "We set it up so that we could escape with you at any time if we needed to."

"A lot of good that did." Scorpius commented as he turned to James. Astoria's gaze lingered on her son for a moment before she returned her attention to James.

"Where were these safe houses?" James asked.

"All over the world." Astoria answered. "I helped set them up. They're all charmed to look perfectly normal to Muggles, but Muggles will never approach the house. Any magic used within the house is disguised to other witches and wizards, and only the family assigned to each house can enter it. There were hundreds. I help cast all the spells."

"So, if we could get the list of these places, we could set people up outside of here?" James asked and Astoria only shrugged.

"I assume, but I can't guess as to the state of these houses."

"And if we could charm one to let in Albus, and could get a message to him, he could get out of Division?"

"How would he know where to go?" Scorpius asked.

"Can't the Trace stop you from using specific spells?"

"You want to cut off every spell except Appiration?" Scorpius asked. "What if he needs to defend himself?"

James sighed at the holes in his plan. "What about Adler, then? Could we stop him entirely?"

"Well, I yes, but I'm sure they have a reserve of wands just like us." Rose responded.

"Well, clearly what we've been doing for eight years isn't working, so any of you have any ideas, feel free to let me know. Otherwise just keep destroying mine." James said sarcastically as he looked to Scorpius and Rose, both of whom remained silent.

"I don't understand why you don't just take everyone and attack head on," Abigail commented from the other side of the room. James shut his eyes as he focused on his breathing before he leaned back to look at Abigail, who was standing in the center of the room.

"There are several reasons that is a terrible idea, actually." James assured her as he turned in his chair and rose to his feet and stand across from her. "First of all, we are vastly out numbered. We would be killed and destroyed promptly and just in time for Adler to go back to his dinner before it gets cold. Second of all, that is what we've been doing on a much smaller scale and it's not working. And I can't understand what interest you suddenly have in our planning. You couldn't even answer a question."

"And I can't understand why anyone would be following you. You're terribly dreadful and annoying."

"Nothing compared to your sunny nature, I'm sure." James quipped and Abigail sneered at him. "Yeah, I'm a little bitter, but thanks for pointing it out." He finally commented when she remained silent.

"What do you have to be bitter about?"

"Eight years of my life wasted playing a very violent chess game comes to mind." James answered as he turned back to Rose and motioned for her to follow him as he started to walk towards the door. "But don't you worry, Abigail Cameron, possible daughter to the former Minister. At least I took time out of my bitter schedule to save you. If you feel like expressing your gratitude, try a damn smile." James commented as he passed by her and left the room, Rose trailing behind.

"Is he always like that?" Abigail asked as she looked to Scorpius.

"You're the one who's always like that, actually." He answered as he laid back in his bed once more.


	17. Chapter 17

Albus had yet to relax for a single moment since Lily's sudden disappearance. He had not yet been foolish enough to ask about her, so he sat silently in the long dining hall. Nobody else dared to speak either, and so the sound of silverware striking the dinner plates was the only sound to break the silence. Since Lily had gone missing, Chris had been on edge, more so than usual, anyway. Currently, a slight brunette woman was in Lily's seat, but it was obvious she lacked the charisma Lily had thrived on.

Lily had commanded attention and respect. She didn't do so through loud words or even threats, but in the way she carried herself. When Lily had something to say, everyone wanted to listen, no matter how offensive she could be. Lily could also defend herself, and in that regard she seemed to earn her place on Chris' right hand. There were so few men who were willing to face Lily in a battle, be it of words or spells. Of the few who would were foolish enough not to be thought of as anything more than place holders.

This new woman, who had already replaced three others, did not have that same air about her. She kept her eyes downward, and spoke quietly and meekly. Anybody could easily out power her, and therefore the only respect give to her was out of fear of Chris but more so fear of his mood swings.

Albus knew he had gained some unwanted attention as each day passed and Lily's name went unspoken even longer. It was some unspoken realization that Lily had been the spy from the very beginning, and Albus knew that which he feared the most was slowly beginning to take form. The distrust that had been forced onto Lily was now shifting onto him. Like Lily, Albus had no part of any spying, but that didn't matter anymore.

As Albus made his way through the Division Headquarters each day, keeping up with his duties and appearances, he tried to think of a way to escape. He hadn't the slightest idea of where he would go, and he couldn't help but bitterly remind himself that if he and Lily were escaping at the same time, she'd already had a fully formed plan. At the point where Albus was still thinking of an escape plan, Lily would already have hers in motion.

Perhaps what was slowing him down was the wondering. He had no idea where Lily was, or if she was even alive. Chris could have murdered her and left it at that, and Albus feared that he would never know. He'd already left behind one brother and no at the threat of losing a sister forever, he felt himself beginning to break.

He was sure there was a way to get out of Division, more or less, safely. If anybody could think of it, it was Lily. Maybe even James could come up with a few ideas given enough time, but now Albus was forced to think of something all alone. His entire life he'd argued with Rose that he wasn't the typical middle child, and now without his older brother and younger sister, he couldn't make heads or tails of what to do. The only thing he feared more than becoming Chris' next framed spy was that he was helpless without one of his siblings. Since that realization had already come and went, Albus forced himself to focus on the matters at hand.

If he survived his stay at Division, then he could ponder on all the things he couldn't do without his siblings. Of course, survival seemed an impossible goal as he peered around the table. Most of the men had turned the gazes away from him, as though attempting to hide their doubts. The few bold one held his gaze, and Albus seemed to know immediately that he did not stand a chance remaining in Division without Lily. Perhaps he had never belonged, and Lily had been the anchor holding them in place, but he tried to think of Lily as little as possible. If in fact she had been killed already, he did not want to force himself to go through the break until he could breakdown in some degree of safety.

When the sound of glass shattering echoed through the room, Albus was thankful the eyes had turned away from him. Instead, most were watching the new woman, who regarded as so important, only a handful remembered her name. Her wine glass was shattered on the stone floor, its red contents pooling into the creases between the stone tiles. Chris' gaze had fallen on her, but he did not say anything. Instead, he pushed himself back from the table and rose to his feet.

The woman had stood as well, but Chris held his hand up, signaling her to stop. Slowly, she sat back down and Chris turned his back to the table. His guards followed him through the back door leading to his private chambers, and the door closing behind them echoed violently through the room.

Eventually, dinner ended and the men had begun to file out of the room, leaving the mess for the servants to pick up. Albus was one of the last to leave the room, and Ethan walked out of the room at his side. Albus knew Ethan wanted to speak to him, but could barely focus on the many things happening at once. Nonetheless, Albus and Ethan went up the stairs side by side, silently. It wasn't an odd sight, for their rooms were on the same floor. Ethan did look around before entering Albus' bedchamber, so as to make sure he wasn't sighted with the next framed spy. Ethan, as well as everyone else, knew it would come sooner or later.

"What?" Albus said roughly as he began to pull his black cloak off of his shoulders. Ethan remained standing near the bed in the center of the room while Albus had moved to the far end of the room where his dresser and closet was. Ethan kept his eyes on Albus, but Albus kept his hands busy as he pulled his father's ring from his finger and dropped it onto the top of his dresser. Beside the ring was Lily's silver bracelet with fake diamonds and emeralds. He'd managed to take it from her room before it was cleaned out, as so he held onto it protectively.

"She's there." Ethan said softly, so that his words could not be overheard. Albus quickly turned back, eyes wide in shock. "With James. He found her."

"She's ok?" Albus asked as he crossed the room to come closer to Ethan, and Ethan nodded at his question.

"It seems, he found Scorpius and his parents as well." Ethan said as he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and held the folded piece of parchment for Albus to take. Quickly, Albus took it, unfolded it, and read it to himself. He reminded himself to breathe as he thought of Lily and Scorpius in the old Ministry building once more. He wondered if they were together again, and if Scorpius knew about what he and Lily had done after he had gone missing. He wondered if James had been angry, and if Rose had yelled. She probably did. He wondered if Hugo had hugged them and if Scorpius' parents had stories that they hadn't heard before. He wondered so many things, but in the back of his mind, he feared he would never know. He couldn't help but notice that again Lily had somehow ended up in a favorable situation by accident. It seemed she had done that her entire life and he envied her for it. He would give anything to be in the Ministry building with Scorpius once again.

After reading the letter Albus held it out to Ethan and met his gaze. "What's your escape?" Albus asked simply and Ethan's eyes widened at the question.

"How do you mean?"

"I know Rose didn't let you come here without some kind of way to get back in case you ever needed it." Albus answered and Ethan's eyes suddenly narrowed critically.

"Rose?" He repeated.

"Your medallion." Albus said as he motioned to the small gold circle that hung from Ethan's neck. "That's Rose's. And she wouldn't have given it to you unless you're together."

"How do you know it's hers?" Ethan responded defensively as he reached up to the medallion hanging outside of his shirt. He quickly tucked it in as Albus held his stare.

"Because I bought it for her ten years ago." Albus answered. "In Hogsmead. She never took it off, and then she gave it to a boyfriend she had."

"And then what?"

"I'm not telling you her history." Albus answered sharply and Ethan cleared his throat as he lowered his gaze and took a step back. It was clear Lily had always been the driving force behind the set of siblings, but Ethan had realized Albus was not to be fooled with either.

"I write every week." Ethan explained as he peered up again. "If I don't they come for me, immediately. If I need to get out in a moment, I have to get to a predetermined safe house by any means possible."

"So what you're saying is that you can't help me?" Albus responded and Ethan averted his eyes. "That's great." Albus said sarcastically as he turned away from Ethan and began to walk towards his dresser again.

"You don't know how to get out?"

"Why would I?" Albus snapped back and Ethan cleared his throat. "I apparently can't do much without either Lily or James around."

"I didn't know you were so helpless without them." Ethan responded and Albus turned back. The look across his face almost mirrored the one Lily had used often. Albus' more angular features made it look far more intimidating across his face than his sisters.

"You can go, now." Albus said strongly and Ethan's lips twisted into some kind of smile or smirk.

"I expected you to be different when I first came here. You're nothing like your brother and cousins think of you, did you know that?" Ethan responded. Albus could hear his tone of voice that he had upset or angered Ethan, but he hardly cared under the circumstances.

"Differently how?"

"You weren't supposed to be so… cold." Ethan answered, and quickly realized he'd said something he shouldn't have. Albus' eyes had flashed and his face had started to sadden, but he quickly recovered himself and returned to an emotionless resolve. "Is there something I don't know?" Ethan asked in the silence and Albus scoffed.

"Talk to Rose about it." He answered before he went into his private bathroom and shut the door behind him.


	18. Chapter 18

"I don't want a room." Scorpius said strongly as he stared up at James and Hugo. The two beds to his right were no empty, since James had arranged a room for them and they had quickly jumped at the opportunity to leave Hugo's ever watchful eye.

"Why?" James asked, thoroughly confused at Scorpius' resolve. "It smells in here. Like sick people, because it's an infirmary room. You won't have a roommate, Scorpius. Rose and I like you."

"I don't want to move." Scorpius repeated and Hugo only sighed as he turned his gaze from Scorpius to look down at his charts.

"And you still haven't taken your sleeping potion." Hugo said simply before peering up again. "And you look like you haven't slept in days."

"At least I'm eating." He answered and James threw his head back. He focused his eyes on the ceiling while Hugo sat on a stool on the side of Scorpius' bed.

"What's wrong, Scorpius?" Hugo asked gently, clearly concerned for his old friend. "If you just tell us, we can do everything we can."

"You don't understand." Scorpius responded and Hugo drew in a breath as he forced himself to think about his responses before blurting them out. "And I still haven't seen Lily. And where's Albus?"

James lowered his chin as he looked at Scorpius again. Just from the look in his eye, Scorpius knew he wouldn't like the news.

"Is he dead?" Scorpius asked.

"No, Scorpius." James shook his head. "He's not dead. Not as far as I know. Come on, let's go see your room."

"I don't want the room." Scorpius repeated but James stared at Scorpius for a moment before he looked around at all the other patients in the room who could easily overhear the conversation.

"Let's go see the room." James repeated with more strength in his voice and Scorpius caught on. He only nodded as he pulled the covers away and stood up. He followed James out of the infirmary, and Hugo continued on with his work, but kept Scorpius in the back of his mind. James and Scorpius did not speak to one another as they climbed a set of stairs to reach the second floor, where James' room was located. James lead the way down the long hallway before he reached his room and opened the door, letting Scorpius walk in first.

On the left, Lily was sitting on her bed, reading from what appeared to be an old beat up novel, but as soon as she saw Scorpius, her eyes widened. She let the book fall to the side as she quickly stood up and turned her angry stare to her brother.

"What are you doing, James?" She demanded.

"Hey," James replied sharply. "Rose doesn't let me avoid anyone down here, and you're no exception." He scolded as he motioned to for her to sit down. "We've put off tell him for over a week, and you know it's not fair."

Lily let her eyes drop as she took small steps back to her bed. She took a seat and leaned against the wall her bed was pushed against before she bent her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. Balancing her chin on her knees, she slowly peered up at James and Scorpius. James remained standing, but Scorpius sat on a chair James had pulled over.

"What haven't you told me?" Scorpius' voice was harsh and demanding, but Lily was sure she and James deserved it. At least she knew she did.

"What do you want to know?" James asked.

"What's happened?"

"Starting from the beginning?" James clarified and Lily lifted her head. Scorpius looked to her, and she let her eyes wander towards him as well. She knew he could see the guilt and fear in her face, so he shook his head as he looked back to James.

"How old am I?" Scorpius asked.

"Twenty-six." Lily answered simply and Scorpius slowly let himself look at her again. "You'll be twenty seven in fifteen days. You were gone for four years. We didn't know you were alive, we just… couldn't find your body."

"Twenty-seven." Scorpius repeated as though the age had significant value to him. Silence followed, and was promptly broken when he scoffed and laughed. It wasn't a laugh James or Lily enjoyed hearing, though. It was dry and almost hopeless, but nobody commented on it. "I used to think I'd be married with kids by now. In some little house picking up owl droppings."

Lily let herself smile at the image as she turned to look at the wall. When Scorpius faced her, he saw the tear roll down her cheek.

"And Albus?" He asked, and the tears seemed to fall twice as fast from Lily's eyes.

"In Division." Lily forced herself to answer. After a moment, she faced him as well.

"Taken when?"

Lily shook her head as more tears followed. James could feel his sister's heart breaking as she tried to explain the multitude of mistakes she'd made to the only man she'd ever loved. He wanted to protect her from the pain, as any brother would, but James had long ago accepted that some things can't be stopped, heartbreaks included.

"Not taken, Scorpius." James finally said when he realized Lily couldn't force the words passed her lips.

"Then what?" Scorpius asked.

"Joined." James answered and Lily drew in a deep breath to cover her sob. She knew Scorpius and James had recognized it for what it was, but she didn't care.

"James, can you-" Lily stopped as she peered up at James and looked to the door. He only nodded as he went for the door and left, even though he had wanted to comfort his only sister more than anything. The door shut behind him, and Lily forced herself to look at Scorpius again.

"You too, then?" Scorpius' voice was cold and detached, but Lily did her best not to let it affect her. Slowly she nodded, and fought against her instinct to look away. "Why?" Scorpius demanded.

"You don't understand." Lily said simply.

"Then explain to me, what would ever make you and Albus go against everything we've ever fought for?" Scorpius' voice raised and Lily shut her eyes as she put her forehead against her knees. He knew he wasn't making it easier for her, but she had avoided him for so long when he'd spent years waiting for her.

"It wasn't that, Scorpius," Lily answered. She'd only said his name a handful of times since she'd found him, and it still had the same effect on her it had when she'd first said it in front of his cell. Despite the warming sensation, Lily felt the tears continuing to fall down her face. "The day… The battle that you went missing during, we lost half of our capable fighting force. We were forced to retreat, but we couldn't find you." Lily's voice started to break and Scorpius' face softened. As she tried to collect her breath, he stood up and crossed the room. For a moment, he stopped, unsure if he should continue, but he eventually sat on the bed with her, with some space between them.

"I was jumped on almost as soon as we broke apart." Scorpius said and Lily only nodded as though she knew. Perhaps they had already figured out what had happened. "They took me to Division Headquarters immediately. I never even got a spell off."

Lily looked at Scorpius for a moment with too many emotions in her eyes for him to tell them apart. Eventually, he reached up to wipe the tears from her cheek, and he felt her flinch at his initial touch. After a moment, she relaxed and even welcomed his touch.

"I wanted to go back immediately to find you. To look for you." Lily continued and Scorpius nodded. "But I was so badly wounded that James and Rose wouldn't let me. Hugo did his best, but I still was weak. And I-" Lily started but stopped and averted her eyes. "Um… James, Edward, and Albus went out early the next day with a search party to look for everyone who was missing. Most were dead, some were badly injured. And uh… Bridget had been killed."

"What?" Scorpius' breath seemed to have left him and Lily nodded as another tear pushed its way past her eye.

"Before they could even bring her back, they were attacked again. Half of what we had left was killed. We were done to nothing, Scorpius. If they'd attacked again, we'd have all died. We didn't stand a chance. Albus hated James, but he waited another two days before going back to get Bridget. We buried her with her mother's necklace." Lily said, her voice breaking as she looked away from Scorpius. "And Kate drew some pictures, and refused to leave. Albus had to pick her, screaming and kicking all the way back. She wouldn't leave his side until she passed out from exhaustion."

"And then what?"

"A few days later Albus and I left." Lily admitted as she lowered her eyes. For a moment, she said nothing, but Scorpius reached out to force her to look at him. "I was sure we would be defeated within the week. Everything was lost. I didn't have you anymore, and James refused to run like I suggested. Hugo wanted to leave everything behind. Start over again somewhere else. New names, new identities. We could just leave it all behind, but Rose and James wouldn't. They refused, and Hugo couldn't leave them any more than they could leave their cause."

"So you went to Division?" Scorpius said harshly and Lily fought the instinct to look away.

"I figured that when they were defeated, I could help them from the other side." Lily answered, "And Albus just followed me. He was broken. He still is, but he's gotten better at hiding it. He's not the same man he was before Bridget. I think we buried part of him that day and he hasn't let himself let go. But I never let go either."

"And Adler, then?" Scorpius' voice was less judgmental, but the topic still had Lily in tears.

"A year ago, he caught onto a spy operating from within Headquarters. All eyes fell on us, so I just… I… He wanted…" Lily shook her head as she looked away from Scorpius, unable to say the words.

"You became his mistress." Scorpius said and Lily screwed her eyes shut as she willed the truth to change. "To secure yours and Albus' positions."

Slowly, Lily nodded, but said nothing.

"And why was he mad you?"

"I was framed as a spy." Lily answered.

"And I'm assuming you and Albus weren't spies for James, ever?"

Lily looked to Scorpius again and shook her head. He swallowed as he nodded and looked around the room to divert his eyes from her. "Did you love him?"

"How can you ask me that?" Lily snapped back and Scorpius met her gaze. She had never seen him so cold, and she could not help but feel as though he had every right, and yet she couldn't help but feel offended at the same time. "What do you think?"

"That I wasted four years of my life wanting a woman who was bedding some other man."

"Scorpius, how can you..." Lily's voice broke as her tears returned and she looked away from him. She reached up to dry her tears, and moved away from Scorpius as she did so. "Why are you doing this to me?" She sobbed out, not noticing the guilt that come over his gaze.

"If you're allowed to do those things, I'm allowed to be mad about it."

"I never said you couldn't be mad at me." Lily responded, but her voice had broken up, and he could make out barely enough words to put her sentences together. Silence followed, broken up only by Lily's sobs and breaths as she tried to contain herself. When Scorpius reached to touch her shoulder, she immediately tensed. He wanted to withdraw his hand, but kept it there against his instincts. Within moments, Lily relaxed and even moved closer to him, allowing his arm to wrap around her shoulders. Gently, as though he were nervous, he let his fingers brush against the bare skin of her arm and she moved closer still.

Eventually, she looked up at him, eyes red and swollen, but he managed a slight smile across his lips. He wanted so badly to kiss her for the first time in what he finally knew was four years, but he held himself back. He didn't know where their relationship had been left, and was too afraid to broach the subject. Even if he was daring enough, he knew they were both far too broken to ever maintain the kind of relationship they once had, even if they hadn't lost it all.

"Did you think of me at all?" Scorpius asked and Lily raised her eyes to meet his.

"Every day." She answered and Scorpius nodded as his body relaxed. She knew he'd found comfort in the painful situation around them, and the thought made her smile. Though they seemed to be done talking, she didn't move away from him, nor did Scorpius seem to have any motivation to move, or even move his arm still around her.

"You look like you haven't slept." Lily commented and Scorpius nodded.

"I'm afraid to sleep." He answered and as Lily looked up at him more fully, she moved closer to him so that she could push the strands of hair falling in his eyes. "I hate it when it gets dark. It reminds me of where I was. I'm terrified that if I go to sleep, I'll wake up there."

"You won't." Lily said softly as she let her finger tips follow the lines of his face to his cheek. His face had filled out since they'd arrived at the Ministry building, but she could see the changes in his face that looked older than four short years. "You'll wake up right here." Her voice reminded him of a lullaby from his childhood, one that her mother had once sung to him so many years ago.

Scorpius let his eyes drift shut as Lily's fingers continued to slowly move down the side of his face until she touched his lips. She heard his breath falter for a moment as his lips puckered ever so slightly against her finger tips. Continuing, she moved up the other side of his face, touching his closed eye lids along the way.

"Could this be a dream to you?" Lily asked gently and Scorpius shook his head after she withdrew her fingers. "Why not?"

"The dreams I have of you, are never nearly as perfect as the real thing." He answered and Lily tried to look away from the devotion in his eyes, but he caught her cheek with his palm. She wanted to feel his touch everywhere, but forced her attention on his eyes staring into hers. "I've never stopped loving you."

Lily remained silent as she kept his gaze. Slowly, she reached up to put her hand on the back of his, as she turned her head to press her lips against his palm. "I've loved you every day, Scorpius, no matter where I was, or who I betraying. I thought you were dead, and that I would never see you again or even know what happened to you."

"I feared you would never find me."

Lily only smiled weakly at him as she let silence fall around them again. Slowly, she let herself lean against his shoulder, and he tightened his grip around her shoulders. As she let her eyes drift shut, she let herself pretend that nothing had ever changed, and that Scorpius was holding her like he always had. Of course, she knew such a thing could never happen, but that couldn't stop her from dreaming.


	19. Chapter 19

James and Rose were talking quietly to each other as they poured over various maps and drawings. They were trying to plan a next attack, since James' ideas concerning the court rooms were going nowhere for the time being. Though he continued to work on them on the side, he helped Rose with the planning of their next attack, and both had agreed it should hold some tactical merit.

"What about Godric's Hollow?" James asked curiously, and Rose shook her head.

"We would never stand a chance there." She responded. "It's too populated and Division might already have that area for themselves." James sighed as he started to look towards the bookcase in the corner, but he paused as he noticed Draco standing in the doorway, listening in.

"Sorry for snooping." Draco commented once James had noticed him. Rose peered up at him, but neither appeared too offended by Draco's presence. "I only wanted to ask a few questions."

"Go ahead." James responded as Rose peered down at her work.

"What happened to your parents?" He asked bluntly as he stepped further into the room and shut the door behind him. Rose stopped what she was doing as she looked up at Draco as well. "Both of your parents." He added as he held Rose's gaze.

" Dad went missing right as this warfare started." James answered after a moment of silence. "About a month later, was when Hogwarts was taken over and Scorpius and I went for Hugo and Lily. We haven't…" James shook his head as he peered around the room. "Haven't heard anything about him since."

"And your mother?"

"Died protecting Scorpius in a battle during Lily's sixth year, just after Dad went missing." James answered. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have left him and Albus behind. They had never seen real battle before, and then she was the only one left to help and-"

"James, don't." Rose stopped him and James shut his eyes as he looked away from his cousin and Draco's ever watchful gaze.

"I'm sorry," Draco responded and James shook his head again as he forced himself to look up at Draco again.

"It's not as bad as it could be." James answered, and Draco narrowed his eyes at the man standing before him. Instead of pressing for more, Draco turned to Rose.

"Dad went missing around the same time as Harry." Rose answered, avoiding Draco's gaze. "Mum, uh… she's probably perfectly fine, I suppose."

"How do you mean?" Draco asked and Rose peered up at him finally. The sternness of her gaze unsettled him, but also reminded him of her mother in many ways.

"I erased her memory." Rose admitted and Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "She always wanted to see Romania, but Hugo and I never wanted to go. Uncle Charlie always wanted to see us, but were so annoying and she really wanted it." Rose peered down from Draco's gaze, and felt James' hand on her shoulder. "I erased Dad, Hugo and I from her memory. And the War, and the first thing she did was take off to Romania and she was happier than I'd ever seen her."

"Why did you do that?" Draco asked, sounding defensive, earning a hardened stare from Rose in return.

"Why do you think?" She responded and James pulled on her arm. She turned away from Draco and attempted to focus on her work, but James knew she was distracted.

"It's just nice to know that when this over we'll have somebody left for us." James said finally. "Even if she doesn't know who we are right now, she'll be there for us later, and she'll be safe."

"Your mother. Where is she now?" Draco asked softly and James' face softened a bit.

"She's in the cemetery near the Burrow with most of our family." James answered. Draco nodded for a moment and James watched him. "Why?"

"Do you use the Burrow for anything?" He asked and James shook his head.

"It's unstable. Not even Division wants it."

"So it would be safe to go out there?" Draco asked and James paused for a moment to think about what Draco was suggestion.

"Why would you want to?"

"You just told me that that a woman who I tormented for years gave up her life to save my son." Draco replied and James lowered his gaze. He knew Draco and Astoria were Scorpius' parents, but for so many years, Scorpius had been his brother. Even if Scorpius and Lily could divide themselves, James and Albus had not been so reasonable. Perhaps that had been for the best, anyway. Considering their circumstances, James knew he didn't have the extra time or energy to accepting any random men as his sister's romantic interest. With Scorpius filling that space, James and Albus had so much less to be concerned with, and were perfectly happy with her choice.

Now, as Scorpius had a family separate from the one James had done everything he could to protect and keep together, he found it difficult to let go of the bonds. "It wasn't for you." James finally said and Draco knew James and Rose were speaking out of pain rather than sensibility. "You can try and make it seem like you owe my parents for something, but they didn't do it for you. It wasn't about you. You're the one who went off and got captured and left your son with nobody to go to. And he wasn't a Malfoy until he was eighteen. He was my brother before he was ever your son."

"James." Rose said strongly when she noticed what his words had caused in Draco. "Don't pretend you think they left him on purpose." She said as Draco drew in a deep breath to steady himself from James' harshly spoken words. "They made a huge mistake, and we got Scorpius because of it. Leave it at that. Besides, I think we could all use a trip to the Burrow to clear our minds."

"What we need is a white flag."

"Don't say things like that." Rose responded as she gasped for a breath as she fought against her own tears and emotions.

"You've already out done yourself." Draco said simply and James looked to him, appearing far more broken than Draco had expected. "You can't do everything by yourself."

"If you haven't noticed, there isn't anyone else."

"There are people if you know where to look." Draco answered and James scoffed as he shook his head. "I didn't want to upset you, and I never meant to imply that Astoria and I would ever take him away from you. The way it looks, it's impossible anyway. The way he talked of you all those years was evidence of that, and now that we're here, it's even clearer. He'll always regard you higher than me, and perhaps your parents as well, and that's something I have to deal with for the rest of my life. But you don't have to give up things like that if you don't let it happen, James. You can't give up your whole life for this. I know its important, and that's what I thought too. But there so many other things in life that you get once and if you let them pass, you'll regret it forever."

"Am I supposed to take advice from you?" James asked.

"No, I would never suggest that. Merlin knows I've made more mistakes than you count. But you can at least learn from them. Things like love only come once. Don't let it go, James."

James held Draco's stare, and couldn't help but notice Scorpius had his eyes. To James it was only further proof of who Draco was, or perhaps of who Scorpius really was. When Rose touched his wrist, her fingers wrapping around his arm as she gently pulled, James eventually broke his gaze and looked to Rose.

"We should go back to the Burrow." Rose said softly and James nodded in agreement.

"Put together a protection team to go with us." James responded and he kept his eyes on the table. "I'll ask Lily and Scorpius if they want to come." As James stepped away from the table, and towards the doorway, he avoided Draco's gaze. Rose began searching for a black sheet of paper, and Draco lingered for a moment as he watched her.

"He's not really mad at you." Rose finally said, just as Draco had started to leave the room. Slowly, he turned back and looked to Rose, who was already watching him. "He was happy when we found you, but you and Astoria change things."

"We're in the way?"

"No," Rose shook her head as she held his gaze. "Not like that. You being alive, and here, you change who Scorpius is to us. Until a few weeks ago when we found you, Scorpius was my cousin. He was James and Albus' brother. Hugo loves Scorpius to death, and Lily and Scorpius are… The point is, is that you prove that after all these years, Scorpius still isn't what we think of him as. You change everything."

"I never knew what he meant to your family." Draco admitted and Rose only stared back at him.

"James is under a lot of pressure." Rose changed the subject and Draco nodded at her comment. "The smallest things upset him, now. And it's not as though he doesn't know, doesn't realize that Scorpius had his own family before. He knows who you are and who Scorpius is, but it feels like accepting that makes everything else feel fake."

"Us being here doesn't change everything that's already happened." Draco answered and Rose nodded as she looked away. Of course, she knew that, but that wasn't the point.

"When we get to the Burrow, he'll relax." Rose promised as she looked at him again. "But until then, it's best not to talk about Scorpius with him."

"Why does he think of me as a threat?" Draco asked and Rose shook her head.

"Because you threaten what our childhood was built on. Our whole lives have been with Scorpius as part of our family. With you and your wife here treating him almost like parents, it's hard to watch."

"Almost?" Draco repeated and Rose grinned. She'd noticed so many similarities between Draco and Scorpius, but she knew better than to point them out.

"Well I don't want to offend you, but it's not as though you've spent very many years being parents." Rose responded and Draco nodded.

"Is there a difference between your parents, and your aunt and uncle, and Astoria and I?"

"Yes, a very big difference, but I'm a little bias." Rose answered and Draco actually laughed at her response. "If you want to have that conversation, it's best to talk to Scorpius about it. He seems fond of you, but I doubt he wants you to replace Harry any more than James wants it. After all, you said yourself that you being here doesn't change anything that's already happened."

Draco remained quiet as he stared at Rose. She couldn't tell if her words had stung, but she held his gaze anyway. "You remind me of your mother." He finally said and Rose quickly looked away. "Did you know she broke my nose?"

"What?" Rose had been unable to stop the laugh, but when she looked up at Draco, he was smiling at her.

"I probably deserved it." Draco added with a slight shrug. "But don't tell Astoria I said that."

Rose laughed again as she mindlessly began to straighten the papers on her table to keep her hands busy.

"Your mother always knew what was right. She always knew what to do, but when it came to your father and your uncle, she sided with them, even if they were wrong. Through everything, I'm sure. And you're just like her in the way you support James."


	20. Chapter 20

Lily and Scorpius Apparated together to the Burrow, their fingers intertwined. James and Rose appeared separately just moments before them. They were standing in front of Lily and Scorpius, closer to the beat up old home. A few steps behind Lily was Draco, who was looking around at the house, and then at the empty land that surrounded it. Astoria moved to Scorpius' side, and as he turned to her, Lily released his hand and stepped closer to Rose and James.

"We have to wait for Edward." James said and Lily nodded as she peered around at their surroundings. She saw the garden behind the home, which was had been taken over by weeds. She wasn't even sure gnomes were there any more, considering the state of the garden. Rose had her wand drawn as she stepped away from James to move closer to the house.

After a few moments, she paused when she heard the sound of the door squeaking open. Lily, Rose, and James looked to the front of the house to see Edward standing on the porch. His wand was drawn as well, but his face was relaxed as he nodded to James. James turned back to Draco and his parents and motioned for them to follow, while Edward moved to stand to the side of the door. Four men filed out of the house and circled around Lily, Rose, James, Scorpius, and his parents as they moved to the far side of the house. It was a short walk before James reached the area enclosed by a short fence.

The metal of the gate and fence was rusted, but when James pulled on the gate it swung open on the hinges as though it were brand new. He and Rose remained on each side of the gate while Lily stepped into the Weasley family cemetery first. Scorpius waited a moment before he followed as well. Draco and Astoria entered last, but they left space between themselves and Lily and Scorpius out of respect as they passed the many headstones closest to the gate. They were focused on one in the far corner, and as they reached it, Scorpius bent down to his knees as he wiped the dirt from the engraved letters so that they could read Ginny Potter's namely more clearly.

Lily's fingers tightened around her wand as she slowly raised it to the bottom of the headstone. Wordlessly, she produced red roses, which almost matched the hue of her mother's hair. Scorpius rearranged them before he took a single rose from the bunch. Holding it in his fingers, he stepped away from Ginny's grave, and Lily followed him down the narrowed pathway. Instead of leaving, he approached another row of headstones and Lily knew which grave he wanted to visit.

She remained standing on the pathway, watching Scorpius, even as his parents passed her to approach Ginny's grave after they had gone. Astoria had lifted her hand over the flowers and slowly white lilies appeared and mixed in with the red roses Lily had left. Lily hadn't noticed because she watched Scorpius remove the dirt from Molly Weasley's engraved name before he turned to Arthur beside her. After cleaning his name as well, he laid the single red rose between them, before he turned back to Lily. She mustered a small sad smile as he approached her, and took her hand in his.

Slowly, they walked down the path to the gate where Rose and James watched them with as much strength as they could muster. After walking through the gate, Scorpius released Lily's fingers and raised his hand to wipe the tears that had not yet fallen from the corners of Rose's eyes. Gently, he pressed his lips to her forehead before he wrapped his arms around her. She embraced him back as she buried her face in his chest, while James put his arms around Lily as well. Astoria and Draco, who were still within the fenced cemetery area, had seen the exchange, but neither knew what to think of it, or even how to respond.

After Rose had pulled from Scorpius' arms, he pushed the hairs falling in her face behind her ear before he turned to smile softly at Lily. She returned the smile before he turned back to his parents, who still stood on the path way in the center of the cemetery. As they started to walk towards the gate, Scorpius pulled the wand James had given him for the trip and tapped the top of the gate gently. Slowly, the rust fell away from the iron, and shiny black metal replaced it. After the gate was rust-free, the spell continued in both directions to renew the fence as well. The entire fence was renewed as Draco and Astoria passed the gate and gently closed it behind them.

The silence between them lasted for only a moment, because a loud yell had echoed in the empty space. James quickly turned in the direction of where it had come from, and saw the unmistakable flash of green spells.

"James!" Edward's voice called as he ran into the space between the cemetery and where the cross fire had begun. "Division!"

James ran passed Scorpius and his parents, his wand raised as he neared Edward, despite Edward point in the opposite direction. Rose and Lily had turned to find other Division members in the far distance, and without thinking, the two ran in that direction. After realizing what was happening, Scorpius followed Lily and Rose.

Quickly, Edward and James were caught up in cross fire with another man from the protection team Rose had put together. The three were outnumbered by the five Division members currently exchanging spells with them. In the distance, James could see more Division members nearing them, and as such be began to pull back with Edward and the third man.

Lily and Rose were outnumbered as well, but neither let a man stand with a wand for very long. As such, Scorpius only aided the pair when too many men began to close around them. He'd wanted to do much more, but as Hugo had told him repeatedly, he was finding spell casting more energy draining than he'd expected.

"Lily! Rose!" James's voice carried through the air as he and Edward ran towards the cemetery, where Draco and Astoria had managed to hold off only a few men. They, too, were weakened after so long in imprisonment, but Astoria seemed to be faring better than Draco. "Pull back! Scorpius!" James had begun to scream as he shot spells blinding behind him while still running.

Lily and Rose had heard the call, and were slowly starting to retreat as well. Scorpius waited for them to reach him before he started to run back as well. The two women had sent spells back as well, but Lily hadn't been able to dodge the spell sent towards her from behind.

Rose continued forward, not noticing Lily fall to the ground, but Scorpius had immediately went to protect Lily. She had started to bleed as Scorpius bent down to her side. When another spell came their way, but thankfully passed without hitting either of them, Scorpius stood and began to block the spells.

Astoria and Draco, who were closer to the pair, had started to come to their aid, sending spells back at the Division members increasing in number around them. Astoria had managed to push back nearly half of them while Draco had injured a few. By that time, James had come towards them and slide down to Lily's side, Apparating her out of the cross fire as soon as he could. When Astoria and Draco reached Scorpius, the three Apparated just in time to escape the spell coming their way.

"Hugo!" James' voice was bone chilling as it echoed through the narrow corridor. "Hugo!" He screamed again as he carried Lily towards the nearest infirmary room. Draco and Astoria remained standing against the wall as James passed them, but Scorpius followed closely behind.

"Right here," Rose's voice guided James through the room and he quickly found Rose and the bed she'd cleared for Lily. As James set her down, Lily cringed when his arm brushed the injury sight and left his forearm smeared with her blood. James and Rose stepped back when he heard Hugo running into the room, but Scorpius stepped closer and Lily quickly took hold of his hand. As the curtains floated shut around them, Hugo waved his wand over Lily and her shirt faded from her body, leaving her dressed in her under clothes, and her wound open for him to treat. James and Rose left the area, but Scorpius remained.

As Hugo dripped a potion of some sort across the open wound, Lily gripped Scorpius' hand tighter. With his free hand, he pushed the hair from her face and traced along the side of her face. She met his gaze as the pain had started to fade, allowing her to take deeper breaths. Hugo continued to work on healing the wounds best he could, not letting Scorpius serve as a distraction. Most of his patients had loved once present anyway, so he was used to the extra company. Eventually, he fully healed the majority of her wounds, but knew she was still weak from them.

As she rolled onto her back, she looked up at Hugo, who only smiled at her before he turned to her shirt on the side table. He quickly cleaned it with a spell and handed it back to her as he reached for his charts. "I'll have you stay for a few days, ok?"

Lily only nodded as Scorpius helped her pull the shirt over her head. She pushed herself up to sit up straight and Hugo looked at her again. "And you've been kicked out," He added as he turned to Scorpius. "Your room is on the third floor."

"Hugo, come on." Scorpius stood up, releasing Lily's hand as he did so.

"I don't have room for you anymore, Scorpius." Hugo said simply. "I already have someone else in your bed. I'm sure James can get some people to help move your stuff by tomorrow."

"What stuff?" Scorpius asked.

"Your things." Hugo answered. "They're all in storage with Lily's and Albus'. We kept all of your things, we just had to move them out of the way."

"Hugo I can't," Scorpius said simply and Hugo sighed as he kept Scorpius' gaze.

"There's nothing I can do. You're healthy now, Scorpius, except for the lack of energy for spells, but that will come after you've practiced for a while. There's nothing more I can do for you, except give you more sleeping potions that you won't take."


	21. Chapter 21

Lily sat in her bed in the second floor infirmary, and Scorpius' head was rested on the edge of her bed. His hand was still intertwined with hers, but he was asleep. She slowly pulled her hand away from his, but the movement tore Scorpius from his light sleep.

"Sorry," Lily said softly as Scorpius lifted his head and looked around at his surroundings as though he was confused. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"No," Scorpius shook his head as he reached up to run his hand through his hair, though Lily noted his hair was so messy it didn't make any difference. "I can't believe I fell asleep."

"Since you haven't slept in a while, it's not that surprising." Lily replied and Scorpius smiled as he looked at her.

"I still can't sleep," he admitted and Lily reached to touch his cheek. She noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the tired look across his face.

"You seem to be sleeping just fine here," she commented and Scorpius let out a dry laugh.

"I think it's you." He answered as he reached up to intertwine their fingers and rest their hands on the edge of the bed. "I'm more relaxed around you."

"I thought you were mad at me."

"I thought I was too," he said as he slid his chair closer to the bed and tightened his grip on her fingers. "But you make it feel real here." Lily smiled softly at Scorpius, and slowly he began to smile back at her. Both knew the tension between them would never die until they talked about the nature of their relationship, and yet neither could bring themselves to broach the subject. So, in the silence, they only smiled at each other, both remember better times when they had done so much more than innocent hand holding and cared for each other far more than they were currently displaying.

In the silence, James pulled open the curtain around Lily's bed, and paused for a moment out of surprise. He hadn't expected Scorpius to be there, but he realized it was foolish to think Scorpius would be anywhere else.

"Feeling better?" He asked and Lily nodded at him. "Well, unfortunately, I don't have an extra room for you yet. So as soon as Hugo needs the space, you'll be rooming with me again."

"Just like when I was five, except you're way more annoying now." Lily answered light heartedly. James huffed as he smiled, knowing she was teasing him to some degree. "You talk in your sleep, you know."

"So do you," he accused as he neared the bed. "Anyway, you'll have to wait until the next floor has been cleared, to get a room. And Scorpius we've been looking for you. Edward and I and ready to move your stuff but we don't know what you want to keep and what you don't."

"I'm still unclear about what stuff I have." Scorpius responded and James sighed.

"Your dresser. Some clothes. We found a picture frame with an old photo of your parents. And there's a photo album with your name on it."

"That's mine," Lily said and James narrowed his eyes at his sister.

"Well, we must've cleared it from his room, because it's with all of his things," James answered and Lily only shrugged.

"That one is mine."

"I'm hoping the jewelry box we found in there is also yours."

"Yes," Lily answered as she averted her eyes and began to blush. "That one's mine, too."

"Were you two sharing a room or something?" James commented, though he hadn't really meant anything by it, other than a significant amount of Lily's things seemed to have been collected from Scorpius' old room. As Lily's face became brighter, she pulled her hand from Scorpius, and even Scorpius had started to avoid James' gaze.

"Never mind," James said as he cleared his throat. "If you want to come look through storage, you can pick out all your stuff." James looked at Scorpius, but Lily turned towards him.

"I want to see my things," she said and James nodded as he pulled back her covers and offered his hand to her as though mocking ancient, courtlier times. "Scorpius?" She asked as she turned to him, and with a sigh he rose to his feet and followed the pair out of the infirmary. It was a short walk to the first floor where storage was located. Due to Rose's clever spells, the room had infinite storage though it took up only minimal amounts of space.

As the three filed into the room, they found Edward looking through the areas designated for the items they'd taken out of Scorpius' room years ago. Astoria and Draco had joined him, but were standing off to the side.

"What do you want to keep?" James asked as he turned back to Scorpius, but Lily had already started to approach the pile. She tried to reach for a small box put up above her head, but her small stature did not allow her to reach it. Scorpius moved to stand behind her, and reached up to where her arms couldn't reach, and pulled the box down. He set it down on a nearby table and Lily began to dig through its contents.

"Your spare wand." Lily smiled as she pulled it from the bottom of the box and held it out to Scorpius, who took it with a smile. "I wonder where mine went."

"You had spare wands?" James questioned and Scorpius looked to James with a blank expression. Slowly Lily looked back at him as well. "Stealing reserve wands is strictly off limits."

"Oh, what are you going to do? Imprison us? We're already stuck underground." Lily replied sharply as she turned back to the box and James held Scorpius' gaze. Scorpius eventually shrugged and James rolled his eyes as he looked to Edward, who could not stifle his laughter completely.

"What about this one, Scop?" Edward called as he pulled a dark wood jewelry box from near the top of the pile. "Got any secrets you feel like sharing? Like why you've got your own supply of pretty jewels?"

"You're not amusing." Scorpius replied, though he had a smile across his face.

"That's mine, Edward." Lily laughed as she reached out to take it from him, but it had somehow tumbled between their outstretched hands and crashed to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry, Edward." Lily laughed as she bent down to being collecting her jewelry, which had scattered across the floor. "It wasn't a special jewelry box. Just the things inside."

Before continuing to poke through Scorpius' things, everyone started to retrieve Lily's jewelry from the ground. James was surprised at how much she had, but he assumed the majority wasn't real anyway. Probably just rocks transformed into something pretty.

As Lily picked a few bracelets from the floor, she slid them onto her wrist, and Scorpius had draped a necklace around her neck. As she turned her head upward at him, she smiled brightly before pulled her hair out of the way, to allow Scorpius to clasp the necklace around her. Everyone had seen the exchange, and though it appeared rather harmless, nobody was oblivious to the romantic undertones of the behavior they exhibited towards one another.

"Draco, look." Astoria's voice shifted attention away from Scorpius and Lily, and as they looked to his parents, their faces contorted. "It's my engagement ring." Astoria's voice was full of surprise as she held the silver ring between her fingers and gazed at the perfect diamonds still inset in the ring as she remembered. "I can't believe it hasn't been destroyed or something."

"Why do you have her engagement ring?" Edward asked as he turned to Lily who had quickly turned away from her brother's stare. James looked to Scorpius soon after, who also avoided the stares of his parents and James.

"If Scorpius gave you this ring, then you should take it." Astoria said sweetly as she held the ring out to Lily.

"No," Lily shook her head as she peered down at the ring, then up at Astoria. "I couldn't take your ring."

"But if he's already-"

"Mum," Scorpius stepped between the two women, and put his hand over Astoria's outstretched hand. "Take the ring." He said as he closed her fingers around the ring and gently pushed her hand back to her body and away from Lily.

"I don't need it anymore, Scorpius." Astoria told him as she peered up into his eyes. "But how did you get it?"

"I took it from your room before I left the Manor." Scorpius answered. "I thought…" He trailed off as he lowered his eyes and cleared his throat. "You used to always wear it, and I thought that when you came back, you'd want it again. So I grabbed it."

Astoria smiled as looked at her soon and pushed herself onto her toes to kiss his cheek. "Then you should take it to use it as you please." She said as she put the ring into his hand. He knew she meant for him to give it back to Lily, as did everyone else in the room, but Scorpius only nodded as he dropped it into his pocket.

Eventually, everyone turned their attention back to moving Scorpius' things, and the tasked had been completed. Lily sat on the edge of Scorpius' bed, which was a great deal larger than the small ones in the infirmary rooms. Scorpius was straightening the things on his dresser while James stood near the door. Draco and Astoria were standing together on the far side of the room, and Edward had left to continue working with Rose on future plans.

"Looks just like your old room." James commented as he looked around at the walls, which Astoria had transformed so that blue and white patterned wallpaper covered the bare walls. "Without a jewelry box, apparently."

Scorpius ignored the comment, but James saw Lily's face redden slightly as she turned to face Scorpius. As he finished moving the things around, he turned back and met her gaze.

"Will you actually sleep tonight?" Lily asked and Scorpius scoffed as he looked around the room and settled his gaze on Lily once more.

"I doubt it." He answered.

"Just take a sleeping potion." Lily responded and Scorpius shook his head as he raised his arms above his head to stretch.

"I don't want them." He replied and Lily sighed as she kept her eyes on him.

"You look like you haven't slept in a really long time." She told him, concern in her voice.

"I fell asleep when I went t see you in the infirmary." He responded defensively and Lily rolled her eyes.

"That was a nap, Scorpius. And it was the first sleep you had in days. It's not healthy."

"Scorpius you really do need to get some sleep," Astoria said in a rather motherly tone that neither Lily nor James cared for. As she crossed the room and put her hand on Scorpius' cheek, James and Lily turned away, and their behavior was noticed by Draco. "This isn't good."

"Could you all not do this right now?" Scorpius asked, exasperated.

Astoria stepped back from Scorpius with a sigh, before she turned to Draco, who had opted to remain quiet. After Rose had brought it to his attention, he noticed how the little exchanges between himself and Astoria and Scorpius made the Potter and Weasley children cringe. Of course, none said anything about it, except Rose, but Draco wasn't really surprised about that. Of course the Weasleys and Potters raised perfectly polite children even in the midst of war. Older and wiser, Draco tried not to let it bother him, but Astoria noticed the odd change in him, even if she couldn't see what he saw in Scorpius' closest friends. Or perhaps they were family.

"You're not going out as part of the attack force until you get some sleep," James warned and Scorpius groaned as he faced James. "Sorry, but you're a liability if you're tired and not at your full potential."

"When can I go?" Lily's voice was much higher than James' and she pulled his attention as well as Scorpius.

"I wasn't under the impression I could keep you here for very long." James answered and Lily laughed. Scorpius cracked a smile as he stepped towards his bed and sat beside Lily. James noticed how their hands had somehow gravitated towards one another. Draco and Astoria noticed it as well, but followed James' example and did not comment on it, or even linger on the exchange. As quickly as they had accepted their son in the prison, they had adapted to him when he was surrounded by his childhood companions. Though neither said anything, both noticed the incredible difference in him.

"When's the next attack?" Lily asked and James shook his head.

"Was supposed to be next week, but we're waiting after what happened at the Burrow." James answered. "Edward and Rose are working out the details. You can find her in tactics whenever you'd like."

"Is she mad at me?" Lily asked and James remained quiet. After a moment, Lily cleared her throat as she nodded. She had assumed Rose wasn't happy with her, considering the two hadn't had much contact since Lily's arrival. "Oh well."

"That's it?" James asked.

"What do you want me to do?" Lily answered as she held his gaze. "I'm not going in there and begging for forgiveness. She may think she's better than all of us combined all she'd like, and I'm not adding to her complex."

"Wow," James let out a breath at Lily's comment. "I know I have reputation for fixing everybody's petty problems for the sake of peace and quiet, but you two need to work that out all on your own. I guarantee there isn't a soul here willing to get in between that."

"Then I guess Rose can carry on however she'd like."

"Lily," Scorpius sighed as he turned to her. "Just go talk to her."

"No." She replied sharply. "If she wanted to talk to me, she'd have come seen at any time. Clearly, I'm her lest favorite cousin, and she shares that title in my opinion."

"Great," James said sarcastically as he turned to the door and pulled it open. "I'll leave you two alone for now, but the second it interferes with anything, you're both suspended from doing anything except eating and sleeping."

"Whatever." Lily responded and James left the room. Scorpius only stared at her.

"Go talk to Rose."

"No." Lily repeated and Scorpius groaned. "Deal with it, Scorpius. I'm not going to see her any more than she's coming to see me."


	22. Chapter 22

"I don't know, Rose." Edward sighed as he looked down at the messy hand drawn map of Godric's Hollow. "I think that's the best choice. If we could take Godric's Hollow, we could get so much further."

"It's too risky." Rose replied, peering first at Edward then at James. "There are too many people there and any battle would put all of them at risk."

"But what if Division takes over there?" James asked. "That would be even riskier than battling there head on. Right now Godric's Hollow is neutral, but if we can get people there, we could have something to help us move forward."

"If Godric's Hollow is neutral." Rose replied with one raised eyebrow. "We have no idea whether it is or not. Division may have taken over that area for all we know. And what attack force would we be using exactly? It's not as though we have a multitude of people ready to go out battling."

"Well, we've got Lily, now." Edward put in and Rose turned away, but both men saw her roll her eyes.

"Lily is one person, and she's probably not fit to go out into battle anyway." Rose commented.

"She's a better dueler than you," Edward responded and Rose quickly turned back to him with narrowed eyes.

"She's also better at running away."

"What other areas are there that we can discuss?" James asked, attempting to change the subject, as he stepped towards the table and into the line of sight between Rose and Edward. "We technically have The Burrow, even though we don't really use it. But how did Division know to attack us there?"

"I don't know." Edward commented and James turned to him. "Maybe they're just expanding their searches since we breeched the prison."

"Maybe there's a spy here." Rose added and James turned to her with a hardened look across his face.

"If you say Lily's name, I'm forcing you two to talk." James told her, as though it were some kind of threat to make two cousins speak to one another.

"It's not a coincidence, James." Rose responded as she narrowed her eyes at him. "The minute she shows up here after years with Division, they suddenly know where we are and what we're doing? Think about it!"

"I can't believe you." James muttered as he stepped towards her and took hold of her arm. When she pulled her arm from his grasp, he lifted her by the waist and balanced her on his shoulder. "Edward, get the door, please."

Rose had begun to yell at James, but he and Edward effectively ignored her as they walked down the corridor. They did gain a bit of attention, especially as Rose began to hit James' back, but neither man paid it any attention. After reaching the end of the corridor, James carried Rose into the infirmary and Edward pulled open the curtain around Lily's bed.

Scorpius, startled by their sudden appearance, pulled away from Lily, though they had not been engaged in any activity James hadn't already seen before.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked as James set Rose down and pulled the curtain shut with his other arm.

"Scorpius, Edward." James called, and the two quickly fled. James followed the two, but before Rose could follow, he charmed the curtain, forcing Rose to remain with Lily in the small confined space.

"You had to make him mad, didn't you?" Lily commented, earning a glare from Rose. "If you'd just let him be, we wouldn't be here right now."

"No, and you'd be free to go around and sleep with whomever you'd like."

"I can't believe you," Lily responded harshly, but as she looked at Rose, Rose avoided her gaze. Over the course of their childhood, Rose and Lily had never been very close, and the strenuous relationship between them was amplified in their adulthood. "Is there a real reason you feel that way, or are you basing this off of the few rumors you've had over the four years? Or is everything I do inherently wrong, whereas you are completely incapable of wrong doing?"

Silence followed as Lily's eyes watched Rose, who walked the few steps across the foot of Lily's bed before she turned back and continued in the other direction. Rose kept her eyes in front of her and casted downward at a slight angle, but she knew Lily noticed that she was avoiding her gaze.

"I'm sure that's the one." Lily commented when Rose still remained silent. "It's always been that way, anyway. I played Quidditch, and you looked down on me because it wasn't intellectually challenging. And don't forget, Rose. I never finished Hogwarts. I'm sure you've got something to say about that one too. Let's hear it."

As Rose finally turned to face Lily, her face showed more surprise than Lily had expected. Not letting it affect her, Lily held her cold stare until Rose averted her gaze to the ground.

"Why did you leave?" Rose asked and Lily shook her head.

"I don't owe you any answers."

"But I'm sure you've already told Scorpius." Rose answered sharply and Lily let a dry laugh pass her lips.

"Don't forget James. I told him, too." Lily answered.

Just outside the curtain, James and Scorpius stared at each other, both silently wondering if forcing the two together had been a good idea or not. Edward had already fled, because he certainly did not want to be around when Rose finally got out of Lily's assigned bed space.

"I can't believe you." Rose replied sharply and Lily let out a dry laugh as she held her gaze on her cousin. "You act like everything you do is perfectly fine, regardless of who you affect."

"Spare me your lecture, Rose. I don't want to hear it. You don't know anything about my reasons, Rose, so you're better off not talking about things you know nothing about." Lily answered, still appearing to keep her calm composure. Scorpius, however, doubted Lily truly was as calm as she sounded.

"That I know nothing about?" Rose repeated, her voice growing louder. "I know you and Albus nearly destroyed James! I know we already lost Scorpius and Bridget and then you two go and add to it! I don't care what your reasons are; you were being selfish, just like you've always been!"

"What? Opposed to selfless you?" Lily counted, and the two stared at one another.

"James and I have spent years trying to keep you from killing yourself, and then you just go off and desert us? For Division no less."

"I'm sorry, Rose. Were you under the impression I needed you to take care of me?" Lily's voice had dropped, and Rose narrowed her eyes at her.

"I was the one who told James to get you and Hugo out of Hogwarts!"

"We were sixteen, Rose. That hardly counts for anything!" Lily replied sharply and Rose scoffed as she narrowed her eyes.

James winced as he looked to Scorpius, who knew James had realized his idea had been a terrible one. As though he needed any one to point it out to him, Hugo walked into the room, his eyes narrowed at James. He remained silent as Hugo approached the two men before he reached out to pull back the curtain. Because of James' charm, however, Hugo had been unable to grab the fabric.

Lily had noticed the spell flash when someone had attempted to pull it open, but Rose hadn't been paying attention. Instead, Rose's gaze was fixed on Lily.

"Hardly counts for anything?" Rose repeated strongly. "That was when you and Hugo went to live with Scorpius, when you proceeded to steal-"

Rose stopped herself midsentence as she turned away from Lily's gaze. Lily had quickly thrown the covers off of her as she swung her feet to the ground and began to walk around the bed to face Rose.

"James!" Rose yelled. "Let me out right now!"

"Steal what?" Lily's voice had gotten louder and more forceful as she stared at her cousin with cold eyes.

"James! I'm not kidding!"

"Steal what, Rose?" Lily repeated.

James looked to Scorpius then Hugo, both of whom nodded in agreement with Rose. Quickly James tapped the curtain with his wand and it flashed for a moment. Without hesitation, Rose pulled it open and quickly left Lily behind, but Lily followed her into the small walkway down the center of the room.

"Steal what? Steal Scorpius? Is that what you were going to say, Rose?" Lily yelled after her, but Scorpius had wrapped his arm around her waist to prevent her from following Rose out of the room. Doubting she would get her answer, Lily relaxed against Scorpius, and let him hold her for a moment.

In the door frame on the other side of the room, Rose paused and turned back for a moment, but as soon as her eyes found Scorpius and Lily entangled in an otherwise innocent embrace, she quickly turned away. Lily had certainly gotten her answer, even though she could hardly believe it. James, Scorpius, and Hugo all felt the same, but nobody dared to say anything in the tense silence following Rose's departure.

After lingering, a moment, Lily pushed Scorpius' arm away and went towards the bed stand beside the bed. She pulled open the drawer and the three men behind her could hear her retrieve something from the drawer. As she turned back, her hand was already in her pocket and she started to walk passed James and Hugo, towards Scorpius. Before reaching him, however, she turned and started towards the exit.

"Lily, where are you going?" Scorpius called as he reached for her wrist. She twisted her arm to release herself and continued without looking back.

"Nowhere." She answered as though it was the answer Scorpius had expected. Knowing better than to follow her as she left the room, Scorpius turned to James.

"That was a brilliant idea," Scorpius commented sarcastically and James only stared back at him.

"How was I supposed to know that was going to happen?" James responded and Scorpius sighed.

"What did you do?" Hugo asked, and though his voice nearly as harsh as Lily or Rose's could become, his voice was harsh enough compared to his normal calm and collected tone.

"Nothing," James answered defensively, almost as though Hugo were his parent reprimanding him.

"Well, whatever you didn't do, you'd better fix it." Hugo answered and Scorpius laughed, earning a stared from James. "With you pushing those two together, I hate to say it, but everyone was a lot happier when Lily wasn't here."

"Thank you," James snapped back at Hugo in a sarcastic tone before he turned his back to his youngest cousin. Hugo only rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to the other patients in the room that had been disturbed by James' terrible idea. Scorpius opted to followed James out of the room, and the two wandered towards the tactics room, though neither really expected Rose to be there.

"I don't think this is good." James commented as Scorpius shut the door behind them.

"Really?" Scorpius asked. "What gave you that idea? The fact that you've almost started the fourth Wizarding War?"

"I don't need your snide comments," James replied but as he peered up at Scorpius, both men were smiling, bordering on laughter. "This isn't funny." James finally said as he sat down on a chair, but Scorpius remained standing on the opposite side of the room. "We need to fix this."

"I don't know what you're plan is to go about that," Scorpius responded then paused for a moment. "But good luck finding people willing to get anywhere near those two when they're unhappy."

"Well, you'll help me with Lily, won't you?" James asked and was met with Scorpius' blank stare.

"She's going to ask me if I agree with her or not. And then I say I do because I don't want her mad at me. And then she and Rose get in an argument and Lily throws it out there that I agree with her, and then Rose is mad at me now. Do you see where the problem is with that solution?"

"Well, they've argued before. What did we do before?" James asked and Scorpius laughed.

"Ran for cover."


	23. Chapter 23

When Lily walked into her and James' joint bedroom, he was already asleep across his bed. She hadn't spoken to him since she and Rose fought in the infirmary. After wandering the lower floors of the Ministry building, she returned to the infirmary, where Hugo only smiled at her and let her leave his immediate care.

She looked to James for a moment, before she wandered to his side of the room. From his clutched hand, she pried the parchment and set it on his bed stand. In his other hand, he clutched his wand, and Lily slowly pulled it from his grasp before she set it on top of the parchment. She had only glanced at the parchment, but she had quickly recognized it as the map of Hogwarts their father had given him.

As she returned to her side of the room, she headed toward her dresser, where she retrieved her night gown. After changing, she reached for her cloak and tied it around her neck. From her bed stand, she picked up her wand and tucked into the inside pocket of her cloak for easy access. She left the bedroom, and quietly shut the door behind her, so as not to wake her brother, before she began to head for the lower floors.

It took a few minutes, but she eventually arrived to the door of Scorpius' room. A soft glowing light peeked out from beneath the door and became brighter as she neared it. Without knocking, Lily reached for the door knob and turned it, attempting to open the door, but she found it was locked.

The light beneath the door had quickly gone out, and a few moments later, the door cracked open. "Why do you lock your door?" Lily questioned, and Scorpius sighed as he swung the door open, and held it there with his arm. Lily easily walked beneath his arm and he shut the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked as he pointed his wand at the lamp on his bed stand to illuminate the room again. His eyes followed Lily across the room, where she removed her cloak from her shoulders and hung it on the hook on the door of his closet.

"I wasn't going to fall asleep in my room," she admitted as she looked back to him. He did his best to ignore her attire, but he was suddenly reminded he was dressed only in his shorts as well. As his eyes inevitably, scanned her body and clothes, Lily did the same to him. Lily, however, only saw the many scars across his torso that she knew hadn't been there four years ago.

"What can I do about that?" Scorpius finally asked and Lily shrugged as she turned away from him and walked towards his bed in the center of the room.

"Nothing." She answered before climbing into his bed and pulling the covers over her. "Just figured we'd stay up all night together."

"What makes you think I'll be all night?" Scorpius responded as he faced her. He still stood near the door, and Lily was sitting up in his bed, the covers pulled up to her waist.

"I just assumed you were still having trouble sleeping." Lily admitted with a shrug. "Even if you're not, you make me feel better."

Scorpius smiled at her as he nodded and began to walk towards the other side of the bed. Lily laid back and rolled onto her side so that the two faced each other. Scorpius didn't turn to her until he turned off the lamp near him, leaving them in darkness.

"I suppose nothing's really changed, then." Scorpius commented as he looked at Lily. He could vaguely make out the lines of a smile across her face, but his eyes hadn't yet completely adjusted to the darkness. There was still a good amount of space between them, but Scorpius reached out to set his hand on her waist, and could do so comfortably.

"I wouldn't say that." Lily responded softly.

"Why? Seems like we ended up in the same place we were before. And it only took a few weeks."

"We're not exactly where we were before." Lily counted and Scorpius nodded slightly. She was right, but he couldn't help but feel pieces of what they were before lingering between them still.

"Not yet."

"Are you expecting us to?"

"I don't know if expecting is the right word." Scorpius answered. "But you can't say that we're not going there."

"I never did."

"You haven't said anything." Scorpius replied and Lily nodded. She shrugged as she drew in a breath and tried to look away, but eventually her eyes rested on him anyway.

"I guess I don't want the full extent of what we were before now. At least not right now. I just want to be around you, because you make everything feel easier. It wasn't really about us or our relationship."

"You could've just said that then." He answered and Lily only laughed softly before she moved closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist before he pressed his lips to her forehead. He felt Lily lean her head back slightly, but she paused and eventually settled in the space beside him. He knew she was thinking that they had not yet to kiss since their reunion, but he wasn't daring enough to kiss her.

Distracting him from his thoughts, Lily ran her fingers on his chest and stomach, tracing the lines of his scars. She followed the first curved scar on his chest and lifted her fingertip from his skin. At another scar on the other side of his chest, she touched him again, and continued the process over the majority of the scars marking him.

"What happened?" Lily's voice was soft and Scorpius could tell that she almost afraid of his answer. He tightened his grip around her waist and she adjusted herself against his body. The feel of her pressed against him was almost more than he could handle, but he forced himself to look down at her as she peered up.

"A lot of things." Scorpius finally answered and Lily nodded as she bit her lip. "Just… spells, mostly." Scorpius said as he began to drawn circles on the small of her back with his finger. He didn't want to go into detail, and he was sure Lily didn't want details, but the vague idea had been enough to upset her anyway.

"Will they ever heal?" Lily asked as she pressed her palm firmly against Scorpius' chest. She heard him take a breath at the touch, but he focused on her eyes.

"Hugo says some of them." He answered. "Not most. The older ones won't."

"I thought you were dead." Lily admitted as she lowered her eyes. Of course, Scorpius already knew that, but he could tell the mere thought left Lily with guilt now that they were together. Slowly, Scorpius moved his hand upward to stroke her hair as she pressed her face into the crease of his neck. His heart had begun to beat faster as he held her so close. Despite their closeness, he felt nervous but relieved at the same time. He knew they'd been as close as they were now previously, but somehow it felt different.

"It's ok now." Scorpius whispered softly into her ear, and felt her arms tighten around his neck in response. After a moment, he began to feel her lips pressing against his neck, but he was sure he was simply making it up. Lily continued, however, until she heard his breath quicken. When she stopped, she listened to his breath as he slowed them and took deeper breaths.

In each other's embrace, the pair eventually fell asleep. For Scorpius, it was the best sleep he'd had in years. Since the moment he'd been taken by Division and separated from Lily and her brothers and cousins, he had never let himself relax as much as he had while holding Lily and feeling her body pressed against his. Similarly, Lily slept without her guard for the first time in several years. Sleeping beside Scorpius was absolutely nothing like sleeping beside Christopher Adler.

The next morning, while Scorpius still remained wrapped in the sheets, Lily slipped out of the bed. She retrieved her wand from the pocket of her cloak and after a few spells, she managed to conjure a simple vanity table beside his dresser.

As she sat in front of the mirror sitting on top of the table, she began to run Scorpius' comb through her long tangled locks. She knew they weren't nearly as healthy as they had been before, due to her stay at Division and the stress associated with it. Nonetheless, she smoothed out her hair before she started to separate it. Just before she began to braid her hair, she noticed Scorpius watching her in the mirror. He was laid on his side, the covers falling around his waist, his hand propping his head up over his elbow. He has a soft smile across his lips, a smile Lily returned before she focused on her hair once more.

She heard Scorpius roll out of the bed, and as she glanced at him in the mirror, she saw him toss the covers into a heap in the center of the bed. His shirtless figure walked towards her and stopped when he stood behind her. She focused again on her hair just as she finished braiding it into one long braid. As she tossed it over her shoulder to fall down her back, her eyes met Scorpius' in the mirror.

"You should wear your old dress." Scorpius commented and Lily's eyes narrowed in curiosity as she tilted her head. "I still have it."

Lily only laughed as she held his gaze until he turned away. He bent down to the bottom drawer of the dresser beside the vanity table, and pulled open the drawer. She immediately recognized the fabric and which dress he had saved before he'd even pulled it out.

"Your favorite." Lily commented and Scorpius laughed as he handed it to her. She stood up from her seat as she took it from his hand. In one motion, she pulled her night gown over her head, and ignored Scorpius' red tinted cheeks as he looked away from her exposed body. Of course, he'd already seen the pieces of her hidden by her under clothes, but Lily didn't dwell on his antics. She then pulled the dress over her head and let it fall from her shoulders before she flattened the wrinkles with a spell.

As she stepped back from the vanity table to get a more complete view of herself in the mirror, Scorpius watched her. He could not help but wonder what Lily could be if she were not confined by war. With her hair done messily, but enough to stay out of her face, and clad in a perfect summer dress, he longed to see her basking in warm sun rays and smiling without the worries of war creating early wrinkles across her face. He'd already noticed the vibrancy of her hair had somehow dulled over the four years that had separated them.

"You're perfect." Scorpius said simply and Lily only smiled at him. Something was different between them, he thought, but it might've been that things hadn't really changed at all. He'd somehow fallen into the exact place he had been in four years ago, prior to their separation. As Lily's smile brightened, he was certain he was allowed to remain in that place, but he knew as well as she did that they simply needed each other for the comfort. Neither were thinking in terms of a real committed, long term relationship, but neither doubted that was somewhere in their future anyway.

For the moment, they stared at one another. Scorpius was still undressed, a harsh contrast to Lily who looked more prepared for a day at the beach than at war. Returning to his previous sleeping habits, Scorpius had hair plastered to his forehead as well as sticking up in any manner of direction. Lily's hair was some odd combination of messiness and tameness, but Scorpius adored it all the same.

"Scorpius!" James' voice called from the other side of the door, and slowly, Scorpius turned to narrow his eyes at the wooden frame. As he turned back to Lily, she shook her head as he smile grew. Smiling back, he nodded at their silent agreement not to respond in hopes they would be left alone for a few more moments.

"Scorpius, come on!" James had begun to knock loudly against the door. "I know you don't sleep!" He called out as he started to turn the door knob. Lily sighed as she stared at her brother, who paused in the door way after spotting her.

"Oh," James narrowed his eyes at Lily for a moment as though acknowledging the relationship he knew existed between her and Scorpius, before he turned to him. "We need you in tactics as soon as you're ready." James told him simply before he noticed the scars marking Scorpius' torso. When James' eyes had strayed from Scorpius' face, Lily had handed Scorpius a shirt hanging on the closet door and he pulled it over his head without broaching the subject with James.

"And Rose wants to talk to you." James added as he caught Scorpius' gaze once more.

"About what?" Lily sneered as she narrowed her eyes at James. "I can't imagine there's anything left to say."

"You can't be mad at her for life, Lily." James told her as he stepped further into the room and gently shut the door behind him. "She has reasonable grounds to be mad at you and Albus."

Lily let out a huff of air, and Scorpius' lips turned into a half smile as he faced her. James often was amused by Lily and her clever responses, but under the tense circumstances between her and Rose, he hoped Lily could find some middle ground to agree on.

"I highly doubt that's what she wants to talk about." Lily commented simply as she fixed her hair while peering into the mirror.

"I doesn't matter what she wants to talk about. The fact is you owe it to her to listen whenever she wants to talk to you." James responded, sounding more and more like his imposed position of mediator.

"Why does it depend on when she wants to talk to me?" Lily demanded and James sighed.

"Because it's much easier that way." He admitted. "You're far more willing to compromise than she is. She's far more stubborn in all the worst ways."

"Well, did you ever consider that maybe I'm tired of compromising for her?" Lily responded. "I'm completely helpless as far as she's concerned. Apparently I wouldn't be alive without her, according to her. As though she'd ever survive a day in Division. It's not quite the walk in the park she thinks it is."

"And must you prove that to me?" James responded calmly, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him."I think it's fairly safe to say, that if we had to give up anybody to Division for any reason, you're the one with the highest survival rate."

"Well, maybe you should let her know, then you can get back to me on her jealousy issues."

James stared at Lily, absolutely perplexed as to how to respond. He clearly couldn't suggest Lily and Scorpius not be together. That had a slew of other problems much worse than the one at hand. He also could not simply tell Rose she was being ridiculous in her feelings. If she were Albus or Scorpius, or ever Hugo, he could. But Rose and Lily never took comments like that the way he intended them. Years ago, the four boys had simply agreed that girls were weird no matter what, since Rose and Lily had as much in common then as they did now.


	24. Chapter 24

Scorpius eventually made it to tactics, where Edward, James, and Rose were organizing the papers across the middle desk. For a moment, he thought they hadn't noticed his presence, but Rose lifted a hand and the door closed shut behind him. She then handed Edward a stack of papers and he turned to put them away on a bookcase in the corner. Once James did the same with another notebook, the table was left clear except for only a select few pieces of large parchment.

"Were you moved around at all?" James asked simply as he turned the largest of the parchments around so that Scorpius could see it right side up. As Scorpius stepped towards the table, and peered down at the parchment, he realized it was a map marked with the building belonging to Division and hideouts he, James, and Albus had created some years ago.

"A few times," Scorpius admitted as he studied the map more closely. "I was only outside once or twice, I remember being here." He said as he circled an area on the map near a Division building and an old shack he and Albus had been forced to spend a few nights in after an attack gone wrong many years ago. "That old shack against the trees has been burned, though." Scorpius commented as he looked up at James, who nodded.

"I burned it." James admitted. "About two years ago. It was found out through a leek here."

"Two years?" Scorpius asked and James nodded. Rose had wanted to ask another question, but as Scorpius' eyes peered down at the map once more, the three across the table from Scorpius knew he was thinking of something entirely different.

"Were you already with your parents then?" James asked and Scorpius nodded.

"I was with them almost from the beginning. Abigail was moved with us. We moved about three, maybe four times."

"Who is she?" Edward asked and Scorpius peered up at him.

"She hasn't said?" Scorpius asked and James shook his head.

"Does it matter?" Rose commented, but Scorpius didn't look in her direction.

"She is the Minister's daughter." Scorpius answered. "I figured she'd have told you by now. She's a little bitter about life. Rightfully so. Good conservationist when there's no one else around."

"Do you think she knows something that she won' tell us?" James asked and Scorpius shrugged.

"Probably." Scorpius answered. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up. If she doesn't want to tell you, she'll never tell you."

"What's her problem?" Edward asked, for more interested in the woman who seemed perfect capable of snapping at anyone no matter what. Hugo was so far the only person who had been exempted from her wrath, not including the few number of children.

"If I tell you, she'll kill me." Scorpius answered with a laugh which James and Edward mimicked.

"Could you place any of the buildings where you've been?" Rose asked curiously and Scorpius focused on the map once more.

"I don't…" Scorpius shook his head as he sighed. "I don't know. You're better off asking Abigail, honestly. She always seemed to know those things better than we did." Scorpius told them as he peered up at James. "I was in Division Headquarters once. Right when they'd taken me."

"Lily said we can't penetrate from the outside." James said and Scorpius nodded in agreement.

"There's too many protection spells in place. I threw a rock through the window once, though. From the inside, and the spell broke."

"Lily said a fire was our best chance." James added as he narrowed his eyes in thought. "To destroy the walls." Scorpius nodded as he thought about the possibility.

"But how would you start a fire from the inside?" Scorpius asked. "And how could you ensure that nobody stopped it before it destroyed anything?"

"We'd need someone inside to do it." James said. "Maybe Ethan." He commented as he turned to Edward and Rose. Edward nodded, but Rose's face showed uncertainty.

Scorpius wanted to ask who Ethan was, but the door behind him busted open and slammed against the wall. As the four turned back, a young man was hunched over his knees.

"Division. Outside." He managed to say through his breath. "Too many for the on hand attack."

Without any other words, the four had run out of the room. Hugo was already in the corridor as a few men were dragged into his main infirmary room. "Somebody find Kate!" Hugo yelled before he took hold a man attempting to run passed him. "Go look for Kate, right now."

The man had begun to shake his head as he turned to James, who only nodded. James, then turned to Edward and Rose, both of whom already had their wands drawn and were leading the way to the floor above. Scorpius followed behind, and when they reached the main entrance and exit of the building, they found Lily clutching her wand tightly. Her dress was smeared with blood, but it didn't appear to be her own.

"How many?" James asked.

"Too many." The wounded man against the far wall answered with a cough and James looked to Lily with a hardened stare. "They want you."

"Then I'll go alone." James said as he started towards the door but Lily stepped in front of him.

"Absolutely not." Rose commented, and Edward and Scorpius appeared the agree, though neither said anything.

"And Lily." The wounded man added before he groaned from the pain of his wound. "They want a meeting with both of you."

"Great." James muttered as he looked to his sister. "Nobody do anything unless you have to." James said as he turned to Rose and Edward. "And don't hurt yourself." He added looking to Scorpius. "Last thing I need is you hurt again."

Though it didn't seem like the best idea for all of their leaders to go out at once, nobody argued as Lily pushed open the door and removed the protection charms. James followed behind her, then Edward. Rose and Scorpius came last, and the door was sealed behind them.

As the five emerged, they found themselves surrounded by ten Division members, each one holding their wands. In front of the five, Albus was on the ground, severely wounded and bleeding.

"Albus." Lily had started to step towards him, but James took hold of her wrist before she could leave his side.

"Lily," Chris' voice held laughter as he stepped forward, between his men. He then stepped over Albus and looked directly at her. "Good to know you've survived. I don't think I could've gone one without you."

"What?" Lily snapped at him as she released herself from James' grip and stepped up to Chris. "The whores aren't cutting it anymore?"

Chris' face twitched at the comment and Lily knew he'd wanted to strike her, but refrained in front of James. "I don't know what you're speaking of, but as soon as you're ready to be reasonable, you're place will be made available to you."

"Well, after you've been killed, I'll keep that one in mind." Lily replied sharply, finally pushing Chris over the edge. He had reached up and hit her across her cheek with the back of his hand. Edward had quickly refrained Scorpius, but Lily had taken care of herself without his help. Chris had nearly fallen over when Lily's knee connected with his middle. "Don't ever touch me, again. Do you hear me? And let Albus go. He's not a spy, you moron."

James took a breath as he tried to remain focused on the scene before him. The men surrounding them were clearly in fear of Chris, but it seemed the feared Lily as well.

"I know he's not a spy, Lily." Chris said softly as he reached up to touched her cheek but she swatted his hand away. "He's hardly anything without you, apparently. He's become rather useless. He wouldn't even tell me about your dear brother here."

"Well, you've never been rather talented at asking for what you want." Lily responded. "You usually just demand it like a child."

"Enough." Chris' voice was harsh as he pushed Lily to the side. She had quickly pointed his wand at him, and though he appeared to be unaffected by it, Lily knew otherwise.

"What do you want?" James demanded.

"I've come to make a deal." Chris answered. "You have something I want, and I know you want your useless brother back, now that I have no use for him anymore."

James narrowed his eyes at Chris, but Lily already knew what he wanted. As she stepped back towards Scorpius, her wand eventually fell. Scorpius quickly put his arm around Lily. Chris noticed the pair and watched them with a sneer across his face before he focused on James again.

In the silence, Lily counted the moments she had left with Scorpius. She knew James would agree, especially considering the state Albus was in.

"Lily for your brother." Chris said simply, holding James' gaze. Lily was pushed to the side slightly, when Scorpius' wand went up, pointed straight at Chris. Slowly, and with new found confidence, Chris turned in his direction, an unnerving half smile across his lips before he looked to Lily.

"No," Scorpius said strongly but nobody seemed to pay his statement any attention. A few steps behind Chris, Albus had begun to cough and he instinctively lifted his hand to his mouth, only to find blood on sprayed on his fingers. James, who could see Albus, had averted his eyes as he took in a deep breath, hoping it would allow him to think clearly. Of course, when Albus and Lily were at risk, James rarely could think clearly no matter how strongly he willed it.

Slowly, Lily reached up and put her hand over Scorpius' out stretched one. When he turned to her, she could see the fear across his widened eyes, but she did her best not to linger on it. "Lily, don't." Scorpius' voice was more pleading than anything as he shook his head. Slowly, his hand dropped and Lily heard his breath become quicker and louder.

James, Edward, and Rose were the only ones not watching the pair, but all three were listening intently. Chris' eyes were glued to Lily and the way she acted around the man who should've remained securely locked away in one of his prisons. Lily pushed herself onto her toes as she reached up to cup his cheek, and Scorpius; breath became even more erratic. He knew his opposition meant nothing to Lily, and to James, and he could hardly control the dry sobs. Part of him knew he was probably over reacting, but he had spent years separated from her, only to be separated again.

"I love you," Lily's voice fell only on his ears as she lightly brushed their lips together. She had meant for the kiss to only be light and fleeting, but Scorpius had kissed her back with an intensity she wasn't sure of how to respond. After a moment, she kissed him back, feeling him pull her tighter against his body.

"Enough!" Chris demanded and without hesitation, Scorpius' wand was pointed at him again. It was only half a moment when Scorpius' green spell had seemed to reach to Chris, but it had been deflected at the last moment. In the ensuing blast, James, who had been closest to Chris, blew back past the entrance to the Ministry building. Scorpius and Lily had been thrown back as well, but nearly as violently as James had. Edward and Rose experienced a similar effect.

"It's his force field." Lily commented as she looked first to James.

"Scorpius, what did I tell you!" James demanded, and Chris' chuckled seemed to echo through the eerie air between the rivals.

"Like I supposed to know." Scorpius replied. "All of our problems would be solved if he'd just die already."

"Alas, you've failed." Chris commented and Scorpius turned to sneer at him. Lily ignored the stare down between her two lovers as she got to her feet again. In addition to the blood staining Scorpius' favorite dress of hers, dirt and debris was now embedded into the fabric. "And while I'm standing right in front of you as well. But, I don't have all day. You know what I want, and it does not appear that Albus will still be alive for very much longer."

"Fine!" Lily yelled at him, and he turned his gaze to her. His smile appeared less wicked when directed at her, but that was even more unnerving to Scorpius. As she stepped over the debris from the above ground floors of the Ministry building, she kept her eyes on Chris, who followed her every step. She could hear the others moving around behind her, but she focused on Chris in front of her.

Eventually, she was only a few steps in front of Chris, but she could feel the protective shield the spell had bounced from. Taking a breath, she reached up wand pressed her palm against the field, watching as it began to shine and reflect light starting from her hand and moving in waves across the entire length of the shield. With another breath, she stepped through the shield and Chris held his hand out to her.

Ignoring it, she walked passed him and bent down beside Albus. He peered up at her, and she knew he had lost hope at some point after her departure from Division. Gently, she wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and when she peered up, Chris was looking back at her.

"Your wand, Lily." Chris demanded and Lily huffed as she stood up.

"I'm not giving you my wand," She responded strongly.

"Lose your wand." Chris repeated with conviction in his voice. Lily could remember him being as strong as he was now in the beginning of their affair, and she wondered how he had returned to it.

"Give us Albus, now." James called out and Chris peered at him over his shoulder. Lily had started to help Albus to his feet when one of the cloaked Division members had started to approach the set of siblings. Quickly, Lily had risen her wand to him, the tip barely touching his neck, and he paused dead in his tracks, clearly afraid on Lily's capabilities. James could not help but wonder if that was what drew Chris to his sister so intensely.

"I was going to help."

"Judging from the wounds, I'd say you've helped enough." Lily responded and slowly, the man retraced his steps backwards, before he bowed his head gently.

"Milady." He told her. Lily sneered at the title, but James could not tell. Scorpius had clearly hated the term, but neither said anything as Lily pulled Albus up and tried to steady his weight on her smaller frame. After some stumbles, they reached the shield, where Edward had met them to take Albus across.

"Your wand, Lily." Chris repeated as he watched her hand Albus to Edward over the shield. She glared at him for a moment before she tossed her wand across the dividing shield so that it landed at James' feet.

"Happy?" Lily's voice was full of sarcasm, but Chris smiled at her as though it hadn't been. As he neared her, he attempted to place his arm around her waist, but she quickly shed herself of the unwanted physical connection.

"Perhaps after you've returned to yourself." Chris answered and Lily's eyes narrowed at him.

"And makes you so sure the real me is the one who wastes nights with you?" Lily snapped, but Chris appeared as though the comment hadn't hurt his most basic pride as a man.

"Give it time." Chris responded as he reached to touch her again, but Lily had taken the opportunity to take his wand. In only the moment he realized he had accidently armed her, the two deadly words had fallen from her lips. The tip if the wand had glowed green for a moment, but before the spell had even left the wand, a second explosion had echoed in the empty space of what had once been the Wizarding World's most trusted government.

Chris and Lily had been blown away from one another, and both appeared to have open wounds over their bodies, but both were still breathing.

"Stop her!" Chris' voice boomed and quickly three men surrounded her, and managed to take the wand from her hand, even though she had proved the wand had not accepted her spell casting. One of the men handed the wand back to Chris, while the other two attempting to hold Lily in place. With her struggling, it was a difficult task and eventually, Chris nodded, and the two released her. He tucked his wand into his pocket as he eyed her with narrowed eyes.

"That's enough, Lily. You've already agreed to come."

"Doesn't mean I won't try and kill you."

"Well, it seems I've already survived two attempts today." Chris replied rather nonchalantly as he surveyed the small wounds across his arms.

"A knife always worked better than a wand anyway." Lily responded, and James could not fight the smile threatening his lips. He could always trust Lily to hold her own in a battle of words. So long as she had her own wand, or one she could use, she could definitely match any one else in a duel as well.

"So clever." Chris commented as he neared her and held out his hand. "It's time to go back, now."

"I'd rather you just kill me now."

Chris shut his eyes for a moment, showing the first display of his instability when Lily's presence affected him. "Stop speaking like that. You know you don't mean it."

Lily looked away from him, but she could hear his steps as he neared her. He had put his arm around her, and Lily could feel Scorpius' grey eyes watching her, unable to look away no matter how desperately he tried. A single tear had escaped from the corner of her eye before a pop echoed in the open space, and Lily and Chris disappeared from where they had been standing moments ago.


	25. Chapter 25

Edward was supporting most of Albus' weight as he and James pulled Albus through the narrow corridors. Rose had gone ahead of the three to find Hugo immediately, and Scorpius was trailing behind them. He hadn't said anything in the last few minutes, but James knew he was furious. In Albus' condition, he was right to remain silent. James, however, could only imagine what losing a lover to Division could feel like.

As James and Edward moved Albus into the infirmary, Hugo was already waiting near a clean bed with one of his assistants nearby. As soon as Edward and James managed to get Albus onto the bed, Hugo motioned for them to leave, and closed the curtain behind them. As James looked towards the doorway, he found Scorpius, who had been watched Albus for the few moments before the curtain closed around him. Then, Scorpius turned his gaze to James.

"I'm sorry." James said simply. There was nothing else for him to say. It was unfortunate he had lost his sister almost as quickly as he had found her, but he simply could not let Albus remain in Division's hands in those circumstances.

"How could you let her go!" Scorpius' voice was raised, and James had become defensive in response.

"Look at Albus!" James yelled back at him. "What was I supposed to do, Scorpius? Let him die?"

Scorpius, naturally, did not have an answer, but had held his position in the doorway, staring at James. James was obviously upset about the unfavorable conditions of their situation, but Scorpius wasn't thinking logically. James hadn't wanted to let Christopher Adler put his hands on his sister, but he trusted Lily's abilities to keep herself alive. Albus, on the other hand, proved himself unable to handle his position without Lily's guidance.

"Not now," Edward finally said as he stepped between the pair. James' eyes averted from Scorpius as he reached towards his back pocket. When James looked back to Scorpius, he tossed Lily's wand to him, and Scorpius caught it easily. Without anything else to say, Scorpius turned and left the room.

James and Edward lingered in the room, and Rose soon joined them. It had felt like several hours by the time Hugo left Albus' side, but it hadn't been nearly as long. Hugo had given Albus a sleep aid, but assured his sister and brother, as well as Edward, that he would survive his extensive wounds. For the time being, however, they could not speak to Albus. As such, James left the infirmary with no clear destination in mind.

Eventually, he had reached the eighth floor down of the Ministry building. The seventh was partly cleared, but would not inhabitable for some time. The eighth floor was covered with debris and broken furniture, but James had found a semi-clear path as he walked the length of the corridor. He didn't know what he was looking for or how long he'd been wandering the floor, but as he reached a door labeled as the Minister's office, he paused.

Abigail came to his thoughts, knowing she was his daughter after all. After a moment, James reached for the door handle, and slowly pushed his way into the office. A bookcase, which he assumed had been pushed up against the wall in the far corner at some point, was across the floor. Some of the shelves were intact, but the majority of the books and trinkets stored on them were scattered. On the other side of the room, a smaller piece of furniture with shelves was still intact. The many things on the shelves were tipped over.

As he continued to walk through the large office, he turned to the wall with the door he had walked in through. A glass case on the left was perfectly intact, probably kept in such pristine condition through the use of an excellently executed spell. James approached the case, narrowing his eyes at what was kept inside. Judging from the overall condition of the room, James suspected that only that specific case had been magically protected. As such, he assumed its contents had been of the most value to the former Minister.

Growing closer, James released that the majority of the contents of the case were frames pictures. On the bottom shelf, a golden snitch was sitting in a small stand. A necklace was laid out beside it. On the far right, an old beat up book was leaned up against the side of the case. James turned his attention to the pictures, and narrowed his eyes as he studied each one. The first few appeared to be the oldest and had been taken on the day of what appeared to be the Minister's wedding. James smiled as he continued to look at the other pictures, where three young girls were playing behind a tall imposing house.

Though the girls were young, James recognized one as Abigail. Her hair was pulled back in a girlish ponytail, and she was smiling brightly. Knowing the woman she had become, James was actually glad to find her smiling so happily. The next pictures were of the other two girls at an older age. He recognized their Hogwarts robes, and smiled at the cute Ravenclaws waving at their mother or father taking the picture. James felt as though he was watching their lives unfold through a series of well preserved pictures taken to document the moments which might've been insignificant at the time.

James knew all too well that the most insignificant moments were the ones that most wanted to relive. Knowing that Abigail and her family had been so happy at some point in time, had given James some kind of comfort. It was as though his hope had been restored through looking at three sisters growing up, completely unaware of the horrors that would be their futures.

"What are you doing down here?" A voice called out and James quickly turned towards the doorway where Abigail was standing. Her eyes were narrowed as she watched James. Slowly she shifted her gaze to the glass case he was inspecting before she faced him again.

"I was just wandering down here." James answered he stepped away from the case. "You look happy in those pictures." He commented and Abigail quickly looked away from him.

"Why are you down here at all?" She demanded and James shrugged as he turned his back to her to look around the rest of the office. He reached the desk near the back wall and started to pull on one of the drawers.

"I suppose, I'm just hiding away." James admitted as he surveyed the uninteresting contents of the drawer and shut it before peering up at her.

"From what?" Abigail asked as she relaxed her shoulders and stepped further into the room.

"Scorpius is mad about Lily. She um…"

"I heard." Abigail responded. "He hasn't been around all day."

"What time is it?" James asked curiously. He hadn't thought he'd been down there for so long.

"Dinner." Abigail answered with a shrug. She didn't really know the exact time, but gave a rough estimate nonetheless.

"And I'm sure Rose is mad about something too. She usually is. She wouldn't be Rose without being mad about something." James commented dryly as he ran his hand over the dusty countertop connected to the back wall. He pressed down on it with a good amount of force before he lifted himself up and sat on the edge.

Silence passed between the pair as Abigail peered around the office. Her eyes lingered in some areas where debris was scattered, but James assumed she was thinking of something entirely different. She probably had specific memories in those places, but he didn't ask.

"Why didn't you want to tell me who you were?" James asked curiously and Abigail's gaze turned to him once more. His tone was causal, and Abigail felt as though he didn't care one way or the other about the topic. If she'd declined to answer, he probably wouldn't have cared considering the number of far more important problems hanging over him.

"Being the Minister's daughter was what got me locked up in Division in the first place. I swore that when I got out, I wouldn't be that person anymore." Abigail answered and James nodded slowly as though he understood the logic.

"I remember a lot of people coming around the house when I was younger. They were always looking for my dad for something. He and Mum never said what. Only that we weren't to talk to them about anything. And then I got older and all of sudden, I became everyone's next choice."

"Whoever said heroism didn't run in blood?" Abigail replied and James actually smiled as he nodded and took a breath.

"I guess that's what everyone wanted to believe."

"Aren't they right? You're here aren't you? As your sister loves to point out, at least you didn't get locked up like I did."

James turned to Abigail as he shook his head. "If you took everything Lily said personally, it'd drive you insane."

"Here I thought, she just hated me." Abigail replied sharply and James laughed an odd laugh. As Abigail watched him, she got the distinct feel that James had lost hope. He wasn't nearly as guarded as he was when operating on the higher floors of the Ministry building. James was all smiles and hope for the future then. The James before her was almost broken even if he could carry on a conversation.

"Lily's rough on the edges." James commented. "You'll like Albus a lot better, I'm sure. He's softer. Reasonable. Sane." James was nodding as he thought about his younger brother. "He's basically all the things Lily and I could never be."

"Stuck in the middle of two opinionated siblings?" Abigail asked and James smiled as he turned to face her. Slowly he nodded, and Abigail nodded in response. Without saying anything, she turned towards the glass case and pulled open the right door. She reached up to take one of the pictures down and shut the glass door after retrieving it. "That was me for a long time." Abigail admitted as she turned back to James, but she was still peering down at the photograph.

"That's surprising." James commented and Abigail peered up at him. "I'd have thought you were the opinionated one."

"You'd be surprised how one changes after you're entire family has been killed." Abigail responded and James had quickly gone solemn. He still had his cousins, as well as his siblings, including Scorpius. As such, he knew he should consider himself lucky compared to Abigail, who's entire family he assumed had been killed.

"Your sisters?" James asked and Abigail peered up at him.

"One fled with her baby to the States." She answered. "I sent her an owl when I got here, but I haven't heard back from her. The other was killed with my father."

"I'm sorry. Rose always wanted to start a search program. If we win and can rebuild some kind of government. She wants to be able to have a database of people who have gone missing so that we can have specific names in mind when we look for family members and friends who just… never came back." James explained the details of Rose's program to Abigail, but his eyes darted around the room as he spoke.

Abigail hadn't responded, but she noted his words. He hadn't said when they win, but if. If anyone was to be unconvinced of James' hopelessness, she was unsure of what other proof could be made available.

"That's nice." Abigail said softly and James turned back to her.

"Hugo wants a school for Healers and Healing Assistance. Edward wants to have copies of all the books we find down here, and the ones remaining in Hogwarts to be stored in a universal library. Scorpius wants to rebuild Diagon Alley. Lily would like to see Hogwarts built up like it was in the pictures our parents had."

Abigail smiled at all the dreams James carried with him, but she had heard none that were his own. "And you, then?"

James only shook his head as he looked away from her. "It's silly to go on about something that may not even happen."

"If that have that little hope, how can you even be sure Lily will survive?" Abigail asked, and James' eyes shot towards her. He had wanted to argue, but if had learned anything at all, it was that arguing with Abigail was a completely pointless way to waste time.

"She doesn't have to survive. I just would like to see her again first." James answered, but his voice was different. It was the first most obvious sign of how broken James truly was beneath the fearless leader shell he wore around everyone else.

"And then she can just die?" Abigail asked and James' eyes screwed shut as his body tensed.

"It's not easy, but it's realistic." James finally responded as he opened his eyes and looked at her. "And at least Lily had Scorpius, for whatever time they had together. It's always easier to lose someone if they loved someone so completely."

"Why?"

"Because then they're not thinking of death when it happens." James answered, and Abigail could see the pain beginning to reflect in his eyes and face. "If they know it's coming, they have a piece of someone to hold onto. To think about just before it all ends. Sometimes, it's someone waiting for them after they leave this world."

"Awfully poetic for a man who has almost no faith in his own revolution." Abigail commented and the faintest of smiles appeared across James' lips.

"It's the only silver lining I can find when everyone I've ever known slowly dies around me. And for what? We're holed up in the ground? We haven't made any real progress. Nothing has changed, except that Division has certainly become stronger."

"Your message spread across the entire land mass before I was taken, James." Abigail told him and he stared at her intently. "Everyone has hope in you. Every time there was some kind of battle, whispers would start. Nobody wanted to hear that you'd been killed. There wasn't anyone to take your place."

"Where were you when you were taken?" James asked.

"I was on the run, but it was a few days after you'd attacked Division at some building and everyone was talking about how you were just like your father."

"I don't know what place you think nobody can fill, but I don't do much of anything here." James admitted simply as he let out a huff of air and shook his head. "Edward and Rose plan almost everything. We'd all be dead five times over if Hugo wasn't as good as he is. Scorpius was a fantastic dueler and so was Albus, years ago. There's nothing I do that can replace any of them. And without me, they can carry on, just fine."

"You have to mean something more than that, don't you think?" Abigail asked as she stepped closer to him. She set the picture frame on the corner of the desk before she looked up into James' hopeless brown eyes.

"Maybe I'm face of the revolution, but I'm not the force."

"Sometimes that doesn't matter." Abigail answered. "If you think your siblings, and your cousins want recognition for their part in this, you're wrong. They want schools and programs, and buildings, and life, just like everyone else. And if hoping that you're not dead makes all the witches and wizards terrified of leaving their homes feel a little safer, than you have a responsibility to keep up your position."

"I thought you were bitter." James commented and Abigail smiled as she attempted to hold back her laughter at his out of place comment. Watching her, James smiled as well, knowing she probably hadn't smiled so brightly in years.

"I was always an optimist at heart."

"When did you go cold, then?"

Abigail turned away from his gaze as she cleared her throat and reached for the picture frame. "That's a story for another day." She told him as she turned away from him and walked towards the glass case. She carefully replaced the picture to the shelf before closing the door.

"Does that mean you'll tell me, eventually?" James asked and Abigail nodded softly before she turned back to him.

"Maybe once you've learned that you have to have faith in yourself before you could ever have faith in anything else."


	26. Chapter 26

Scorpius had disappeared, but the security charms had not been altered or disrupted. James knew he was somehow within the eight floors of the Ministry building, but if he really wanted to remain sulking somewhere away from the comfort his closest friends could provide, James had no motive to go looking for him. From Hugo, James learned Scorpius had been with Albus when he first woke up and since then had not been seen by anyone.

"Well, how's Albus?" James asked as he followed Hugo through the infirmary room where Albus was being kept. Albus had since fallen back to sleep, but Edward was sitting at his side reading an old book he'd found in the lower levels of the building.

"Physically?" Hugo asked as he opened the door leading to his small office. Sitting in his chair, Kate was drawing on his desk, her legs tucked beneath her on the chair.

"Yes," James answered as Hugo lifted Kate up with one arm. She protested for only a moment, before she gathered her things and left the office.

"He's getting better." Hugo said as he checked the three cauldrons on the small counter against the wall behind his desk. After testing the first, he began to pour the contents of the cauldron into several vials before he set them to the side and looked to James. "I'm still going to keep him for maybe a week. Possibly longer."

"And mentally?" James asked and Hugo drew in a breath as he shut the door behind James by reaching over his cousin's arm.

"He's sleeping at least," Hugo said first. "Not quite as scared as Scorpius in that regard. When he woke up, he kept apologizing, convinced we all hated him or something. He was pretty surprised to see Scorpius, but commented that you and Rose hadn't come to see him yet, though." Hugo explained and James sighed.

"So, do you think he'll be ok, then?" James asked, appearing confused about Albus' prognosis.

"You have to talk to him." Hugo answered and James nodded. "Whenever he wakes again, I'll have whoever is attending him send for you. Probably best for you to talk to him before Rose. Edward had him at ease fairly quickly, but you and Rose will have more impact on him because you're family."

"Does he know about Lily? Did he remember?"

"Scorpius told him." Hugo told him as he took his seat at his desk.

"And tell me about Scorpius? Should I be clearing out his room for a permanent stay under your watch?"

Hugo let out a dry laugh as he leaned back in his chair and peered up at James. "Scorpius understands the workings of the situation, but I doubt it makes it any easier to know that your romantic interest is now with some other man. Admittedly by force, but it hadn't been that way."

"I can't say what that's like." James admitted and Hugo shrugged.

"Neither can I, but if Scorpius hasn't attacked you for letting Lily go, then as your primary Healer I advise you to count your blessings."

James laughed as he ran his hand through his hair before he let them fall back into the messy pattern they seemed destined to remain in no matter what. "Sometimes I don't know what to make of them," James admitted and Hugo shrugged again.

"You mean because Scorpius was basically your brother for so long, or the relationship as a whole?" Hugo asked.

"Everything, I guess." James answered. "Maybe I don't know how to adjust to them very well. Sometimes it's odd, and sometimes it's not. And then with his parents around here, everything has changed."

"I don't think you should talk to them about Scorpius, James." Hugo told him strongly and James narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "It's best to leave that one alone for now. At least while we're all stuck with each other down here."

"Did they talk to you about him?" James asked and Hugo nodded, but said nothing. "Well?"

"James, my patients trust me to keep their secrets. I can't go spilling every interesting detail for your sake."

"Then do it for the sake of general peace." James responded and Hugo sighed as he sat up straight in his chair. "We need to be able to communicate with them somewhat effectively. Scorpius' father knows this building a lot better than I do, and Abby doesn't seem too keen on spilling any details just yet. I need somebody to go to whenever I have a specific question."

Hugo had certainly noticed the familiarity between James and Abigail, but had said nothing about it like the good cousin he was. Instead, Hugo sighed and answered James' original question. "I think mutual respect and direct questions and answers will be enough to get anything you need from one another." Hugo sounded more professional than James was accustomed to, and narrowed his eyes at the change.

"Well, that's what we've already tried, and it didn't work." James responded.

"Draco has already revealed that he won't ask any more questions about our parents or our families and about things that have happened in the past. But James, you must recognize that they didn't make the conscious choice of leaving their son. It was a terrible mistake they made years ago, and costed them twenty years. The last memory they have of their own child was before he could carry on a real conversation. Not only were their roles as parents replaced, but they've lost any chance of being real parents to Scorpius as well. You can't treat them the way you would anyone else. They already know what they need to live with for the rest of their lives, and certainly don't need some quick witted son of their former arch enemy to remind them of it."

"Fine," James said as he drew in a deep breath and slowly let the air pass his lips on the way out. Hugo watched James for a moment with narrowed eyes. When Hugo said nothing, James nodded to him and turned to leave the office. Hugo pushed himself up and followed James into the infirmary room, but both paused when they found Albus sitting up in his bed. Edward was sitting in a chair beside the bed and was leaning forward towards him. Right beside Albus, Kate was tucked under his arm. She was smiling as she looked up at Albus and across their laps, her pictures were spread out as she pointed to them and explained what each one was depicting.

"Kate," Hugo called and she turned to him, still smiling brightly. "Come on, it's time for dinner."

"Can't I have dinner with Albus?" She pleaded with her big childlike eyes. She had even become to pout, but Hugo laughed as he shook his head and held out his hand for her to take.

"Tomorrow night." He promised and Kate continued pouting as she climbed down from Albus' bed and went to Hugo's side. Edward also left Albus' bedside, as James stepped towards his brother and closed the curtains around them.

"Feeling better?" James asked, smiling at Albus as he took Edward's seat. Albus sat up a little straighter as he nodded and became to collect Kate's drawings. After getting them into a neat pile, Albus handed them to James' outstretched hand, and James set them onto the small table beside his chair.

"A lot better." Albus answered and James nodded. Silence passed between them, but as James kept his gaze on his younger brother, he realized Albus was much more affected by his choice four years ago than Lily was. As such, James would be forced to reassure Albus in a way that hadn't been required of him when Lily was present.

"Well, Lily and Rose weren't on the best terms before you left, so chances are she won't be too upset with you." James said finally and Albus' face seemed to show relief. "Other than that, everything should be fine with you back here."

"Fine?" Albus repeated, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well, Lily had considerably more enemies around here than you. And everyone mostly thinks she tricked you anyway." James shrugged and Albus rolled his eyes as he laid back against his pillow. "Consider it a good thing. I almost had to appoint someone to field complaints against Lily."

A laugh escaped Albus' lips before he could stop it, but when he turned to James, both brothers were smiling. Albus was put to ease, even if James wasn't adapted at reading people the way Hugo was, and therefore couldn't tell.

"Did she tell you why?" Albus finally asked and James' smile faded.

"Well, it wasn't too difficult to figure out." James answered and Albus averted his eyes. "I thought we were going to be attack again the day you left. We'd have been utterly defeated if the attack came, and you two would've survived."

"The day we got there, they tried to kill us." Albus said and James narrowed his eyes as Albus turned back to him. "But Lily did something. I don't know what she said to him, but one of Chris' higher ranking men brought us into the center of the buildings used to house supplies. When Chris came the next day, she convinced him to hold off the attack on Godric's Hollow."

"Godric's Hollow?" James repeated and Albus nodded.

"In exchange for letting us join, she agreed to give him details, except she made them all up. Convinced him that Godric's Hollow was completely taken over by you, and if his weakened force attempted to take it, they'd be obliterated."

"He's not in Godric's Hollow, then?" James asked, and Albus shook his head.

"She always had him terrified of attacking there."

James' face seemed to light up, but Albus knew it had nothing to do with him, or even his doings. It was Lily and her way with words. Albus wasn't even remotely surprised that somehow James and Lily managed to make a plan together without even trying. That had always seemed to be their main talent.

"Have you not moved into Godric's Hollow, yet?" Albus asked, and James shook his head.

"Rose always said it was too dangerous. Could we move people there without any real trouble?"

"Yes, if you do it quietly." Albus answered with a nod. "If Lily didn't say anything about it, then I'm sure it's fine. She knows more about his plans than I do."

"From what I've gathered, he trusted you more than her at the end." James commented and Albus nodded slowly.

"That was short lived." Albus responded and James didn't reply to the rather obvious comment.

"Well, Hugo wants to keep you for at least a week," James changed the subject, and Albus nodded in agreement. "We've got all your stuff in storage right now, but there aren't any extra rooms. Since Lily isn't around anymore, and Scorpius doesn't seem to adjusting very well, I was thinking of moving your stuff into his room."

"You kept all my stuff?" Albus asked and James laughed and smiled as he nodded.

"Of course I did." He answered. "We haven't really finished pulling out all of Scorpius' things though. They're sort of mingled with Lily's but we can start moving your things now so that it's ready when Hugo lets you out."

"Did you ask Scorpius?" Albus asked and James shook his head.

"He's been hiding away somehow. I figured he'd come see you again at some point and you could ask him if he cares. I'm sure he doesn't. He doesn't sleep anyway."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know." James shrugged. "He told Lily, I'm sure. Not anyone else. But you've always been closer to him. Maybe he'll tell you."

"Is he mad at me?" Albus asked and James' face fell as he averted his eyes. No matter how many uncomfortable situations he'd even been place into, he'd never really learned how to handle them effectively.

"I don't really know." James admitted. "You'll have to talk to him about it."


	27. Chapter 27

Lily sat in front of the tall mirror set atop a small table where she had once kept her jewelry and accessories. In the mirror, she could see Chris moving about the room as he searched through drawers and under furniture. He was not putting her in the same room she had before, but had instead set up a room down the hall from his own. Nonetheless, he searched the room thoroughly before leaving her to her own devices.

Forcing her eyes to her own reflection, she began to gather her long red locks into one hand. With the other, she smoothed the bumps on the top and sides of her hair before she tightened and spun her hair in a bun. She never wore her hair that way before she had joined Division, and she'd already decided not to waste her better hairstyles on Chris. Instead, she decided to wait for her brothers and Scorpius to rescue her before she styled her hair more femininely. It would be for Scorpius then, of course.

"Anything you need?" Chris asked, his tone sounding as though nothing was amiss between the former and would be again lovers.

"A wand would be nice." Lily commented as she stared at him in the mirror. He was standing up straight on the far end of the room, and his shoulders were squared off. She noticed the differences in him, but still had not commented on them.

"Not yet." He replied and Lily rolled her eyes as she turned her eyes to her reflection once more. Out of the corner of her eye in the mirror, she could see Chris moving closer to her. Once he stood right behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders and ignored the way she tensed beneath his touch.

"And my things?" Lily asked as she motioned to the bare table in front of her with one hand. "I had jewelry."

"We'll replace them." He promised and Lily raised an eye brow as she tilted her head to meet his gaze in the mirror.

"Replace?" She repeated, but Chris said nothing in response. "Because you gave them away to your other mistresses? Is that why?" Lily's voice was demanding, but Chris only smiled at her. She could not help but feel the depraved nature of the smile as she did her best not to wince.

"I won't be requiring the attention of any other woman for now on."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Lily replied, almost sounding as though she were jealous, but Chris knew she was only pushing his buttons for the sake of upsetting him.

"What kind of jewelry would you like?" Chris asked and Lily sneered as she turned away from him. After a moment, she shrugged his hands off of her and rose to her feet to cross the room. She wasn't wearing the dress she had been when she left her brothers, and Chris had seen to the destruction of that garment. As she pulled open the door to her rather large closet, she peered inside to look at the contents, only to find mostly dark colored dresses which would reach the floor when she wore them.

"Are these my only options?"

"What others would you like?" Chris asked and Lily turned back to stare at him from across the room.

"Preferably something I can fly on a broom with. Or run with little difficulty." Lily answered him, and he quickly caught onto what she was implying.

He only chuckled as he watched her, though he did not move towards her. "Saying things like that will only lead to a longer wait time for a wand." Chris warned her. Lily did not respond, but narrowed her eyes at him.

"Candles." Lily said simply and he rose an eyebrow out of confusion. Rolling her eyes, Lily stepped forward and motioned to the empty black candleholders place about the room. "I don't have any candles. And I don't have a wand for light."

Sighing, Chris raised his wand and slowly, tall white candles began to fill the several candleholders. "Anything else?"

"No," Lily said in a mocking tone as she held his gaze.

"Good." He told her with a short nod and a grin. As he turned away from her, he started towards the door. Lily wasn't quite sure what to make of his pause once he reached the doorway, but after he shut the door behind him, she was left in silence.

Only a week had gone by, but had Lily not kept track of the days, she'd have thought it'd been much longer. Almost as though nothing had changed, Lily attended nightly dinners, during which the matters of business were discussed. It took all of her strength to keep her composure as the men around her discussed the horrifying task of murdering James. In addition, Scorpius had been added to the short list of wanted persons, dead or alive. Before seeing her brother and feeling his embrace, as well as Scorpius', Lily had been perfectly capable of sitting through such talk with little if any reaction. Now, it was all she could do not to stab Chris with her knife.

As she glanced around the table, she noticed only a handful of men met her gaze. The majority of the men who did stared at her with clear distrust, boarding on hatred. Whether Chris knew his men disliked Lily so much was unknown to her, but she held her head as high as she could.

Without Albus, Lily was relieved and nervous at the same time. At least before, she had someone to go to as soon as the tiresome dinners end. With Albus under James and Hugo's care, however, Lily knew he was far safer than he would be here, even if safe was a relative term during times of war.

"What do you think, Lily?" Chris' voice pulled her to the present and she slowly turned to meet his gaze. She lifted her crystal wine glass to her lips, and slowly let the dark red liquid pass her lips and tip down her throat before she gingerly set it on the table.

"Does it matter?" Lily response was quite anticlimactic considering the time it had taken her to respond. Of course, her mind had been wandering, and she had no idea what discussion she'd been brought to the center of. As such, she was forced to remain indifferent.

"What does her opinion matter?" The man sitting directly across from her spoke in a rather harsh tone. Neither Chris nor Lily cared for the tone, but Lily only rose an eyebrow in his direction. The outburst had actually gained him her respect. At least he was smart enough not to trust her, opposed to their so called leader who had willingly dragged Lily back to him.

"Do not speak like that concerning her." Chris chastised and Lily let out a soft laugh as she peered down the length of the table. She could probably count the number of glares sent in her direction, but as she took another drink of her wine, she let her head fall back and she stretched her neck. She knew Chris was fooled into thinking she truly was relaxed and at peace in his company, but she doubted many others were under that impression.

"Of course she won't approve of killing her brothers!" The same man answered and Lily rose and eyebrow as she turned his gaze to him once more.

"It doesn't matter what I think on the subject." Lily told him, her voice sounding as soft and gentle as it had always been. It was the tone she'd used a year prior to gain what little love she could from Chris. "The fact that you think you're even capable of killing them is beyond me. Morals and family aside, you can't kill them based completely on competence."

"What are their weaknesses then?" Chris asked and Lily turned her gaze to him. She let out a laugh, almost as though the enjoyed the question he posed to her, but he noticed the coldness take over her face and eyes.

"And what do I get out of tell you?" Lily responded. "One less mistress? Maybe two? Maybe one less day you're not whoring around." Her voice had become as cold as her stare as she looked away from Chris to stare at a random point on the wall across from where she sat. In one quick motion, she lifted her glass and tipped the remaining amounts of wine down her throat before she waved to one of the attendants standing near the far wall. "More wine." She demanded.

"You will be the woman on my side when we win." Chris said, starting to sound cold as well. Slowly, Lily turned to him, and for a moment he was convinced the prospect had attracted her, but as her lips twisted into an almost evil smile, he knew he could never twist Lily the way she was perfectly capable of twisting him.

"Well, there's always the matter of my father, which you have remained rather tight lipped on." Lily told him. "Perhaps a fair trade can be set up, otherwise, it's best to save your breath and stop asking me ridiculous questions."

"I don't owe you any answers." Chris told her strongly, almost as though he'd set his authority, but Lily's girlish giggle in response had been more than enough to crush it. It seemed odd that it took only a woman's laugh to crush his strongly spoken words of authority, and yet every man in the room could feel it happen. It was such a harsh contrast between the two, and somehow Lily had prevailed. Even though she remained wandless and virtually defenseless, she carried her air of confidence in a way that did not allow Chris' words to take hold.

"And I don't owe you anything either." She responded after the long room had fallen into a still silence. "Except perhaps my soul." She commented bitterly as she finished the contents of her second glass of wine and rose to her feet. "Honestly, you'd think one had to sell their soul to the devil to wind up in this dread place. Try some windows and color. Then we'll talk." Lily told him with the most aggravating smile across her lips. She'd even bent down so that their faces were in line, and her hand was resting on his cheek. As she giggled again, she pressed her lips to his cheek and Chris knew she'd melted away at his persona with nothing more than words and so very womanly laughs and touches. It seemed impossible, and yet it was Lily. Completely, utterly Lily to do such a thing in such a way.

Without looking back again, Lily left the room through the private door Chris had always used before. When the door shut behind her, the silence remained in the room as well as the tension.

As Lily reached her room, she retrieved the box of matches Chris had given her and began to light her candles. How Chris knew of the muggle invention of the match was beyond her, but she pushed the though as far away as she could as she continued to move about the room. Even with the numerous number of candles, the room wasn't nearly as lit up as it would be under the use of a spell. They did provide a nice romantic atmosphere, but Lily did not find it very desirable considering her situation.

When thoughts of Scorpius began to flood her mind, she willed the thoughts of Chris to return, but she had failed in that regard. In the short amount of time she'd spent with James and Scorpius, she'd only kissed him once despite the many times she had wanted to. She wasn't sure if he'd felt the same way, because he'd always been much better at hiding such a desire than she was at detecting it.

When Chris had entered her room, she was lounging comfortably across her rather accommodating bed, a novel in her hands. He had started to wonder where she had gotten a hold of a novel, but as she marked her page and set it to the side on her bed stand, the thought escaped him. Once the sound of the lock echoed through the otherwise silent room, Lily narrowed her eyes at Chris and sat up a bit straighter.

"What do you want?" Lily asked and he let out a dry laugh.

"You know exactly what I want." He answered and Lily let out a huff as she turned away from his gaze. She had started to wonder if there was any feasible way out of Chris' romantic advances, but the rational portion of her mind knew better than to dwell on fairytales.


	28. Chapter 28

James didn't know what it was about the Minister's office, but it had a calming effect on him. He was currently sitting in the oversized chair, but he hadn't bothered with wiping away the dust and debris that had settled on the seat and armrests over the years. As he leaned back slowly, he tested the balance of the chair and after deeming it safe enough to remain seated in, he leaned back more completely and propped his legs up on the desk in front of him.

He couldn't help but imagine the Minister sitting in the same position he was in. to be so relaxed, James was sure it had to be several years ago when life was still relatively easy. He even had a nice view of all his family photos on the far side of the room. Bearing in mind the considerable size of the office, James thought it a safe assumption to think of the Minister has having lead a rather satisfying life until the end. If only he'd lived long enough to see what had become of at least one of his daughters, James thought to himself.

When he heard footsteps approaching the office, he had scrambled to pull his feet down, resulting in a loud crack resonating from the old chair as he quickly leaned forward. As Abigail walked through the doorway, she narrowed her eyes at James, and he was sure his face was beginning to show his embarrassment, even if there was the slightest chance she had not heard the noise or not known what it was from.

"I got grounded for doing that, I hope you know." Abigail told him, and James had begun to wish the chair had completely fallen through the floor so that he wouldn't be face to face with Abigail.

"What are you doing down here?" James asked, deciding a change of subject as quickly as possible was the best remedy to the situation on hand.

"Thinking." Abigail answered. Her voice had lost the joking manner she'd used only moments ago, and her face had become far more serious. "Is it true, you're moving people to Godric's Hollow?"

"Yes." James answered quickly, but Abigail took her time turning to face him. "Well, we're going out there to look first, then we'll decide what to do. Albus said Division hasn't touched Godric's Hollow."

"Who will move?" Abigail asked. "If people can, I mean."

"I don't know." James answered with a shrug. "It's difficult. I don't anyone to move if we can't set up some kind of Healer care there as well. But we've almost used up all the space we have here. It's a miracle we've lasted this long here."

"Godric's Hollow is mostly houses, right?" Abigail asked and James nodded. "What about safety?"

"That's why Edward, Scorpius, and I are heading out there in a few days to take a look."

"Is that safe?" Abigail asked and James shrugged as he peered around at the walls of the room. Abigail had been concerned he'd heard the worry in her voice, but as he contemplated his response, it seemed her worries were for nothing.

"Rose and Edward devising a plan now. I actually wanted to bring Hugo with us, just in case."

"What of Astoria and Draco? They're supposed to be rather good duelers."

"Twenty years ago." James responded and Abigail laughed as she looked at him. "What?" He asked defensively when she said nothing. "They haven't had a wand until a few days ago."

"I think they could beat you, easily." Abigail said and James laughed at the concept. "You doubt them?"

"No, not at all." James answered as he pulled the chair closer to the desk and leaned his elbows on the edge. "I doubt your reasoning, though."

"Harsh words." She told him as she shook her head, a playful look across her face. For a moment, the two enjoyed the playful banter until it fell quiet again. With a sigh, Abigail crossed the room and sat on the edge of the desk, as James leaned back in the chair, but kept his feet on the ground. Eventually, Abigail turned to look at him and pulled her feet to the desktop as well.

"You look like him." Abigail said softly and James narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. "You act like him, too."

"How?"

"He knew from the beginning, he'd lost." Abigail answered, and James' confusion appeared to worsen. "He used to say things like we needed to enjoy the time we had left, and that we needed to accept that sometimes things are out of our control. After I finished at Beauxbatons, he pulled my younger sister out too. That was the year the Ministry fell."

"Was that when your natural optimism was spoiled?" James asked. He was half teasing, and half serious, and Abigail was quickly reminded that she had promised to tell him that story.

"No," Abigail answered. "I was soft spoken then. My older sister was like yours. Quick witted. Sharp. Fantastic dueler. Just… not quite as talented at…"

"Making men fall in love with her?" James asked in a bitter tone, clearly aware of Lily's doings but not approving them in the slightest.

"I was going to say manipulation." Abigail responded, but James shrugged at the minute difference. Silence followed, but Abigail kept her gaze on James while he stared at a point on the side wall. She was sure he was thinking of something else all together, but she did not speak. Eventually, James turned to meet her gaze.

"How did you get dragged into this?" Abigail asked curiously, but James only stared at her for a moment.

"How did you get dragged into this?" He repeated the question but directed it at her as he narrowed his eyes and shrugged. It was very clear to both that neither had chosen their predicament or position in the war by their own doings.

"Well, I'd have thought your parents would've given you some kind of choice." Abigail said with a shrug. "Knowing all that they know."

"They tried." James answered. "But my father went missing. And then it was four of us with my mother and she was broken. She knew he was dead, but she lied to us. Said that there's always a chance. Never know what might happen."

"Did you find his body?"

"Never." James answered. "But it's been ten years."

"It's been twenty for Scorpius' parents." Abigail pointed out, but James had quickly turned away from her. At first, she didn't understand his odd response, but eventually it came to her. It had nothing to do with the matters of life and death, but rather the role of parents and siblings, including the odd position Scorpius was in between the rival families Potter and Malfoy.

"Have you spoken to them?" Abigail asked.

"Briefly." James answered as he turned back to her, but his gaze had become cold.

"It's not their fault."

"I know." James responded sharply, and Abigail was startled by his snappy reply. "I already know that. Hugo's already lectured me, and I don't need it from you, too. It's a miracle Rose hasn't, except that she probably feels the same way I do. Even if she's far more rational than I am. Apparently they got that from their mother, and I'm just stubborn like my Dad."

Abigail remained quiet during the still silence between them while James realized he'd lashed out on the wrong person. He wondered why Abigail had not argued back, considering her nature, or at least the nature she adopted over time.

"I'm sorry." James said finally and Abigail only nodded once. "I just don't know what to do anymore." He admitted and when Abigail met his gaze again, she saw the vulnerability across his face and in his eyes.

"With the Malfoys? Or the war?" Abigail asked, and James shrugged as he shook his head.

"Both, I guess. Neither. I don't know." He said as he shut his eyes and leaned back in the chair again. He tried to imagine better days, but it seemed no matter how far back in his memories he went, he had only a handful of perfect memories. Ironically, most of them were arguments during which he and Lily argued against Scorpius and Albus about some trivial matter held very dear to their childish hearts. As they got older, their teams changed, and James wondered why it had surprised him years later when Scorpius and Lily had suddenly become intertwined in some romantic affair. Since she was fifteen, she and Scorpius paired up against James and Albus. More often than not it was really just Lily and Scorpius against James. Then again, Scorpius was almost as noncommittal as Albus, and like every other aspect of their lives, James and Lily were on opposite sides.

"I just have nothing to hold onto anymore." James finally reasoned as he pushed his memories away and opened his eyes to look at Abigail. He found her sitting on the edge of the desk facing him, her legs dangling off the edge. Her toes were almost touching his leg, but still had space separating them.

"How do you mean?" Abigail asked as she tilted her head. "Your siblings are alive. Your cousins. You have more than most people."

"I know," James replied as he nodded in agreement. He didn't want to sound selfish, but the feeling still ate at him every night, and if he was going to tell anybody, he figured Abigail was as good as anyone else. "But they have others, too. Scorpius and Lily. Rose has Ethan, and Albus had… Had Bridget." He stumbled over the memory of Bridget, but Abigail didn't seem to notice or at least she didn't dwell on it.

"Surely, you've had someone." Abigail said but James shook his head, still holding her gaze.

"I've had girlfriends, yes. Through Hogwarts, but nothing real. It was fun and I was bored and they were there. It was nothing like what they have. And I know Hugo seems perfectly fine, but Hugo is this impossible standard. I don't even think he's related to us. He's far too perfect to be from our bloodline. If you haven't noticed, we've all hit the maximum capacity of flaws, and then Hugo starts lecturing us on understanding and compassion."

Abigail could help but laugh at James' reasoning, knowing he did not firmly believe all the things he had said. "Perhaps you haven't found the right girl." She suggested and James snorted.

"Maybe the right girl's been killed."

"Well, I was trying to make you feel better." Abigail told him and James suddenly felt bad about his quick remark. "But if you must know, love during war…" Abigail trailed off and shook her head before forcing her gaze onto James once more. "It's not quite everything you want it to be. It's not long nights and comfort. And when it is, it's short lived. It's waiting for news. And there's never good news during this war. It's just less bad when they haven't been reported as dead, because in your heart of hearts you know that… You know that living is something reserved for heroes and fairytales. And no matter how much you love them, war makes everyone far more realistic and having your love doesn't make them a fairytale."

James remained quiet as he listened to Abigail's words. He slowly drew in a breath as she focused on him again. "What was his name?" James finally asked and Abigail's eyes had suddenly filled with tears.

"Mark." She spoke in such a soft tone that had there not been silence surrounding them, James wouldn't have heard her. "He was lucky. He got home at the last minute, but he died from his injuries within a few days."

"Was that the story?"

"No," Abigail shook her head as she shut her eyes. James knew it would get much worse, but he couldn't imagine what could possibly be worse, assuming she loved her husband. Judging from the tears, he felt it was a fairly safe assumption. "After he died, we ran."

"We?"

"My mother and my son." Abigail answered and James froze for a second when Abigail's gaze fell on him suddenly. "We had named him Noah, for my father, but he looked just like Mark. Right down to the nose. If I hadn't carried him, I'd have thought he cheated on me."

James couldn't stop the laugh passing his lips, and he thought she'd find it offensive, but she only smiled at him as she reached up to wipe the tears from the corner of her eye.

"We didn't get far, before they found us. He was killed first. Then my mother and that was when I was taken."

James didn't need to ask, because he knew that had been the moment Abigail had been broken into just pieces held together by the shell of her old self. To him, it seemed she'd managed to piece together a good number of the pieces, and he couldn't help but wonder why type person she could be whole.

"He would be nine now." Abigail said as she cleared her throat, willing her voice to remain strong. James, still unsure of what to say or how to respond, simply held her gaze as she tried to stop the tears from continuing to form. He wondered how she'd managed not to fall into a weeping ball on the floor, but said nothing as he slowly rose to his feet to stand just in front of her. Slowly, he reached out and with his thumb, he wiped the tears from her eyes. His hand lingered on her cheek for only a moment before he retrieved it.

"How do you recover from that?" James asked and Abigail looked into his eyes, but said nothing for what felt like the longest time.

Finally she began to shake her head as she parted her lips. "You don't. I begged them to kill me for years." Abigail admitted and James nodded softly. He couldn't say he wouldn't have done the same in her position. Silence followed while James wiped away a few more tears from her cheeks and she stared into his eyes. She hadn't felt such a gentle intimate touch in years, and she didn't know what to make of it just yet. With James appearing to be in no worry for anything, she simply allowed him to continue.

"I understand that you want love for yourself. Someone to hold. But you can't just forget about your family. It's not the same love, but at least you have them."

"I know," James said softly as he nodded. He had begun to bite on his bottom lip, but Abigail reached out to put her thumb on his chin and gently pull down until he released it from between his teeth. "I'm sorry you don't."

"Sorry isn't worth anything anymore." Abigail told him as she peered into his eyes again. She had leaned forward quickly, and pressed her lips against his cheek before she wiped her remaining tears and jumped down from the ledge of the desk. Without any other words, Abigail left the office, and James remained standing where she'd left him.


	29. Chapter 29

"Well, did you ask Hugo?" Rose asked and James sighed as he shook his head. He was sitting in chair in the far corner of tactics, while Rose and Edward were moving around the table in the center of the room. Over the years, they'd become much more in tune with one another, almost to point where Edward worked better with Rose than James did. Of course, James knew that within the last few weeks, his mind hadn't been very well focused on any one thing. Perhaps he was focused one thing, but he tried his best not to let thoughts of Abigail affect every other aspect of his life.

"Well, I can stay here and managed everything just fine." Rose offered, sounding as though she were doing the two men a favor, but both were well aware that she would perform that responsibility whether they left to Godric's Hollow or otherwise. "But you should be prepared for anything. We don't know who lives there."

"Who else should go?" Edward asked curiously as he peered up at Rose, who only shrugged and shook her head.

"Whoever you think might be of help, I suppose." She answered and Edward nodded as he turned to look at James.

"What of the Malfoys?" James asked, earning odd stares from Rose and Edward. Both knew of his unfavorable opinions of Draco and Astoria Malfoy, and so the proposition of taking them to Godric's Hollow sounded odd coming from James.

"I can ask them." Edward finally said when he realized Rose had no response to James. That was because Rose and James shared their views of the Malfoys. Edward, however, had no idea that James had already started to see how unfair those opinions were to the parents who had never chosen their fate.

"They have wands right?" James asked and Edward nodded.

"Yeah, I signed them off to them." Edward answered, and as he turned to Rose, she averted her eyes as she started to move the papers around on the desktop. He felt her actions had more to do with keeping her hands busy than the actual papers themselves, but was smart enough not to comment on it nonetheless.

"And Scorpius, too." James said and Edward nodded. "I'll talk to Hugo about coming with us."

"We still need to decide what to do with that area if we can do anything at all." Rose commented as she finally peered up. "Do we want to use it as another place to operate out of? Or should we just let people inhabit the empty houses. If we're going to protect the area, there's no reason not to use it as another place of operation. Except we'd need to appoint people to lead. And we'd need another infirmary with more Healers, which we don't have at our disposal."

"I'm sure Hugo as a few extra hands who would be capable enough for a few cuts and bruises." James responded with a shrug as he met Rose's gaze. "We'll mostly just need a few capable wands." 

"And a building." Rose replied and James shrugged again. Edward and Rose took notice of James' new found relaxed behavior, but both remained silent on it at the moment.

"Based on what Albus has said, we shouldn't have any trouble at all." Edward said, pulling Rose's gaze to him, but she said nothing. He could sense the topic of Albus as well as Lily were touchy in the presence of Rose no matter how impractical it was not to speak of them.

James drew in a deep breath as he narrowed his eyes at Rose. He knew his attempt to force Rose and Lily to speak had not worked in the slightest, but he knew it could not be nearly as terrible of an experience to force Rose in Albus' presence. He knew the mere possibility of them fighting over a man was below zero, all the more reason to force the cousins to reconcile.

"You need to go talk to him." James said simply and Rose's face contorted for a moment before she forced her calm appearance to return. "I don't care, Rose. You lecture me all the time about every little thing I do, and yet you won't even face your own cousins! What if Lily gets killed over there and you couldn't sit and have one damn conversation with her? Was it that terrible to just sit down with her?"

"Don't spin this around, James. That's not fair and you know it!" Rose argued back, but James did not stand up or even appear to have been effected by the argument starting between them. Edward knew it was probably best for his sanity to leave the cousins to battle it out, but the pressing matter of Godric's Hollow needed to be attended to.

"Can we focus on this before you two start in on each other?" Edward asked, attempting to sound rational and unemotional. Over the long years he'd been around the Potters and Weasleys, however, he knew it was difficult to remain level headed around the two families best known for their tempers and uncontrollable emotions. Unfortunately, Edward had long ago realized their emotions tended to spill out into those closest to them.

"Is this a bad time?" Astoria's gentle voice floated through the room, but only Edward and James turned to look at her in the doorway.

"No." James said, answering for the other two in the room as well. "Did you need something?"

"I was wondering if you knew where Scorpius is." She said simply as she stepped further into the room. Rose still had her back to her, but Astoria was well aware of the tension that had suddenly appeared between the two women.

"You sure he didn't just follow Lily?" Rose commented as she finally turned to Astoria, but she did not hold the older woman's gaze for long. Instead, Rose had quickly slipped out of the room, taking the papers with the list of any potential witches and wizards to take to Godric's Hollow.

"That's great." Edward commented sarcastically as he turned to James. James stared back at him, but said nothing. Edward knew anyway there was nothing for James to say.

"Is there a problem?" Astoria asked, unsure if she was over stepping her bounds but when neither man seemed defensive towards the question, she took another step towards the table.

"Scorpius isn't officially missing." Edward finally answered her original question, but the confusing answer earned him a confused stare from the mother.

"What do you mean?" She asked, and James could clearly hear the concern in to her voice. He could even decipher it from her face.

"The spells on the outer door and the surrounding area haven't been tampered with, which means nobody has left the building since we put them in place right after the meeting with Division outside." Edward explained. "He's somewhere in the building, but none of us have seen him since Lily left, except Albus. But that was early in the morning and he managed to slip away again."

"He could be anywhere?" Astoria asked and Edward nodded.

"We don't track whereabouts inside the building." He replied. "But we don't have the man power to thoroughly search all eight floors. He'll come around eventually. He's just a little depressed and upset. Rightfully so." Edward's voice had a tinge of anger but Astoria left it alone. Judging from James' glance, she assumed James felt the same way even if she didn't understand entirely what it was directed towards.

Silence followed, but it seemed only Edward was affected by it. James was staring at Astoria, watching her face, studying the way her eyes darted between the two men, noticing how she chewed on her bottom lip. Astoria remained perfectly silent, as though she were trapped in the advise she wanted to give the young men, but knew where that had gotten her husband some weeks ago.

"Say it." James finally said and Astoria turned towards him, her head a little higher than before. "You're thinking something."

Astoria remained quiet for a moment longer before she drew in a deep breath as though to steady her nerves. When she locked on James' gaze once more, she parted her lips. "You've already invested the younger part of your life into this war. And I would never say give up or run away, but don't let it consume you. There are so many other things in life, even now. And you can't pass them up."

"What if we don't want to pass them by? What if they've already passed us?" James replied and Astoria's face softened. He wasn't sure if she knew the exact meaning behind his words, and Edward certainly didn't, but Astoria attempted to answer nonetheless.

"You try anyway to catch it."

"The way you want act like Scorpius' mother?" James asked. He hadn't tried to imply that she wasn't his mother, but there was no way around that hidden meaning.

"Something like that," Astoria finally answered, but her voice had fallen.

"You still have a chance." James said and Astoria narrowed her eyes at him. She was confused about his answer, but James simply held her gaze as though she was supposed to completely understand him.

"How do you mean?"

"He won't shut you out of his life." James said with a slightly shrug as he rose to his feet. He was taller than Astoria, but her eyes followed his upward. "He might've been just fine without you his whole life, but that doesn't mean he didn't want you."

"He's more shut off to us now." Astoria admitted, and James saw the concern in her eyes.

"Well, first of all, you were in cells next to each other for years. He didn't really have a choice in the matter then. Now that there's a little more space, you shouldn't have expected him to be chained to you." James told her, but did not realize how harsh his words had sounded until he heard them himself. He paused for a moment as he gauged how she had taken the words, but she hardly reacted anyway. "And you can't try to be somebody you're not." He added afterward.

"Who am I not?" Astoria replied, surprising James that she appeared so interested in his advice.

"You can't pretend that you've been his mother his whole life." James finally said. "Because you…" He paused as he wondered whether or not he should finish the sentence. When Astoria nodded, he knew she already knew what was coming. "You weren't. But that doesn't mean you can't for the rest of whatever's left."

"How is your brother?" Astoria asked, quickly changing the subject, and James smiled lightly at her attempt to push the touchy subject aside.

"A lot better." James admitted. "Eventually, you'll need to meet him. He's probably a better candidate for advice anyway. He and Scorpius are a lot closer."

"I hope you haven't found mine and Draco's presence too much of a burden." Astoria commented and James shook his head.

"It doesn't really matter. We taken in everyone and deal with the problems with it later." James answered and Astoria nodded slowly. "But we are going to Godric's Hollow to scope out the area. If it's clear and not under the influence of Division, you and your husband are perfectly free to set up there if there's space. I can't imagine you like being stuck in the war that nearly destroyed your life."

"That's a kind offer." Astoria replied and James shrugged as he looked down at his hands for a moment before he met her eyes once more.

"You'd be surprised how many people would take up that offer."

"Would you?" Astoria asked, and an odd smile crept over James' face.

"If I had someone to spend all my free time with, perhaps." He answered truthfully. Astoria met his gaze for a moment, but did not respond. Instead, she nodded softly before she turned and left the room, leaving Edward and James to themselves.

"Are you letting people leave?" Edward asked after the door had closed behind Astoria.

"Why not?" James replied. "It's not as though we're getting anywhere."

"Are you ok?" Edward asked suddenly, changing the subject entirely. James narrowed his eyes back at him, but Edward held his gaze. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately. Sometimes you say things like that, and yet when you're arguing with Rose, you act hopeful."

"I've been going back and forth." James admitted and Edward only stared at him.

"Do you need anything? Someone to talk to?" Edward asked and James shook his head. He already had that.

Edward wanted desperately to say that everything would be ok, but both knew it was lie. Instead, they were left in the quiet, but they'd long ago adjusted to it.


	30. Chapter 30

Albus was sitting up in his bed as he and Scorpius spoke quietly to one another. It was early in the morning, and Kate, who had snuck into Albus' bed space when she couldn't sleep the night before, was curled up on the chair sleeping soundly. Scorpius had moved a chair to the other side of Albus' bed to sit down as well.

"I heard you've been hard to find." Albus commented and Scorpius sighed. "Where have you been?"

"In storage." Scorpius answered as he held Albus' gaze. It amazed Scorpius how easily he could fall back into his relationships with Albus and Lily despite the time they spent apart. "Looking through Lily's things."

"That reminds me," Albus said rather absent mindedly as he looked to the small table on the side of his bed. "I have her bracelet in there." He told Scorpius, who turned to pull open the drawer. For a moment, Scorpius only stared at the small bracelet sitting inside the drawer, before he finally retrieved it and held it between his fingers as though it were absolutely fragile.

"She kept this?" Scorpius asked, even though he held the proof in his own hand.

"I managed to grab it before…" Albus trailed off, but as Scorpius met his eyes, they both knew the rest of that particular sentence. Of course, that was only further proof that the two had returned to their brotherly –like relationship as though the last four years had not occurred at all.

"I don't know why she's so attached to this." Scorpius admitted and Albus let out a dry laugh. "It's not even real. It's just a bunch of rocks I transformed," he added as though it were further proof Lily was not in her rational mind to hold onto the piece of jewelry.

"That doesn't matter." Albus answered with a shrug. "You gave it to her, and it means something to her. Having something special from the person you love will always be more important than the price of whatever it is."

Scorpius knew Albus was right, and it brought a smile to his lips as he peered down at the green and clear jewels, which resembled emeralds and diamonds respectfully, embedded in the silver band of the bracelet. "She told me about Bridget." Scorpius finally said as he peered up at Albus again, whose eyes had suddenly gone utterly cold. "I'm sorry," Scorpius said as gently as he could as he reached out to put his hand over Albus'. Perhaps it was odd for two grown men to share an intimate touch such as the touching of hands, but Albus felt the comfort only Scorpius could ever provide. Sure, James had hugged him when he had cried four years ago, but in Albus' mind there was a blaring difference between James and Scorpius.

Albus loved them both dearly, but Scorpius had been a close friend before he was officially accepted as an adopted brother. In the cases of comfort, Albus realized that sometimes one's closest friend was far better at providing than one's family. Scorpius knew more intimate details of Albus' life than James did, and perhaps that made Albus more receptive to Scorpius as well.

"Look how big Kate's gotten." Albus commented as he turned to look at Kate on the other side of the bed. Even with her eyes closes, Albus thought of the warm brown eyes she and her sister shared. He knew they had also been their mother's since he still had one photograph of Bridget's family. "I'm surprised she remembers me."

"She asked about you, actually." Scorpius said and Albus smiled brighter than Scorpius had expected as he turned back to him. "I think she cares for you more than Hugo, which is saying something."

"Hugo's been the one taking care of her. Even though I was the one who promised." Albus commented but Scorpius shrugged.

"At least you're here now." Scorpius said as he leaned back in his chair, still holding Albus' gaze. "Four years is nothing compared to twenty."

"How are you with them?" Albus asked, knowing exactly what Scorpius was alluding to. Albus had yet to meet Scorpius' long lost parents, but figured he should know something about them and their relationship with Scorpius.

"Fine, I guess." Scorpius answered with a shrug. "It's weird. I don't know how to act, or how to treat them. I never know what to say."

"Well, weren't you with them almost the entire time you were gone? Didn't you talk then?" Albus asked and Scorpius leaned forward as he sighed.

"I didn't tell them anything about my life then." Scorpius admitted. "If they were going to die there, if I was going to die there, I didn't want them to know some of those things. How do you tell your parents that you hated them for the majority of your life because you were a stupid kid when you have some horrifying death hanging over you?"

"You didn't say anything?" Albus asked and Scorpius shrugged.

"I told them that I was involved with Lily." Scorpius admitted. "That we were friends. I didn't say that I was raised by your parents, but they never asked, either. And we went to The Burrow with Lily a week or so ago, and I just didn't… I didn't know what I was supposed to do. How do you go to the grave of the only mother you've ever known when the real one is watching you?"

"I couldn't do it." Albus admitted and Scorpius took a deep breath. "And they feel threatened, even if they won't say it. My- Draco and James had this huge blow up, too. Arguing about who I was in their lives, basically. And I know it wasn't easy on James, but they tried to act as though they were my parents."

"Have you spoken to them about it?"

"What am I supposed to say?" Scorpius replied and Albus chewed his lips. Truly, Scorpius had a good point.

"Maybe just hang out in storage for a bit longer," Albus adjusted his advice, and Scorpius had begun to laugh. At the sound, Kate had begun to stir in her chair and she slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were still half closed, and she was definitely still have asleep as she climbed out of the chair. Instead of leaving, however, Kate lifted Albus' covers and climbed into his bed beside him before she curled around him and shut her eyes again. Albus smiled down at the girl as he slid over to make more room for her.

In the quiet, the two heard footsteps entering the room and walking down the center walk way. They assumed it was Hugo, ready to check on is patients after the night, but it was James who pulled open the curtains around Albus' assigned bed space.

"Hugo's looking for her." James said simply as he stared at Kate, before he turned his attention to Scorpius. "And you need to stop disappearing."

Scorpius let out a long breath as he held James' gaze before he turned to Albus. Neither said anything, but eventually turned to look at James once more.

"Your mother has been looking for you, and she wanted to declare you as officially missing yesterday. SO unless you want an entire search party, you should good see them." James told him and Scorpius sighed as he leaned back in his chair and let his head fall back. He focused his eyes on the ceiling while James turned his attention to Albus.

"And Hugo is releasing you in two days. Are you moving into Scorpius' room?"

"Uh…" Albus trailed off as he turned to Scorpius, who kept his gaze on the ceiling.

"Yes." Scorpius answered and Albus nodded as he turned back to James.

"And you need to talk to Rose." James added, turning Scorpius stare towards him.

"Have you not caused enough trouble already?" Scorpius asked and James rolled his eyes before looking at Scorpius. "Did you forget the Lily incident?"

"Well, I'm hoping Rose and Albus don't have that kind of relationship. Or relationship problems." James responded and Albus narrowed his eyes at the two.

"What problems?"

"Nothing." Scorpius answered immediately, but James widened his eyes and averted his gaze at the response.

"Slightly more than nothing, don't you think?" James asked, and Scorpius ignored him.

"What happened?" Albus asked.

"They fought." James answered vaguely as he shrugged his shoulder. "They always have, really. It's just… apparently there's an underlying reason."

"Which is?" Albus asked, still confused as to what Scorpius and James were so vaguely alluding to.

"Nothing," Scorpius repeated and James let out a dry laugh that almost sounded like a scoff.

"Him," James answered and Scorpius groaned.

"Could we please not talk about it?" Scorpius asked with a shrug. "It's just really…"

"What?" Albus asked as he looked to Scorpius, who was avoiding Albus' gaze. "What do you mean fighting over you? What is there to fight over?"

"Nothing." Scorpius repeated.

"The actual grievance used during the argument was the act of stealing." James answered, phrasing it as though it were actual legal problem between the two hot tempered women. Scorpius' face had begun to turn shades of red as he avoided the eye contact of both brothers.

"On who's part?" Albus asked slowly, almost as though he was afraid of the answer.

"Lily was the one who did the stealing, actually." James said and Scorpius groaned as he looked up at James.

"Could you just… stop?" Scorpius asked and James had begun to laugh before he turned to Albus.

"That's just… that's just all bad." Albus said as he shook his head. James laughed again as he turned to his brother and nodded in agreement.

"Does Rose really…" Albus trailed off as he looked to Scorpius. His nose was scrunched up between his eyes, almost as though he'd smelled something terrible, but it was just his natural reaction to the thought of Scorpius and Rose.

"I don't know. We didn't talk." Scorpius answered. James had stepped closer to the bed, and placed his hands on the railing of the foot of the bed as he leaned over the bed of the bed.

"That's just so…" Albus shrugged and shuttered as he let the sentence trail off.

"Opposed to what?" James asked as he lifted one hand and motioned to Scorpius. "Him doing any number of things to Lily? It's not any better."

"Hey," Scorpius' eyes narrowed in defense and James shrugged as he looked to Scorpius.

"Well, it's not bad anymore." James amended before turning back to Albus. "If they were together for about a year, then we'd be totally ok with it."

"No we wouldn't." Scorpius said, but Albus nodded in agreement, holding James' gaze and ignoring Scorpius' protest. "We would think it's weird."

"No." Albus shook his head and Scorpius groaned as he shook his head. "But you and Rose would never work."

"That's probably the most sane thing wither of you have said." Scorpius said as he leaned back in his chair, ready to give up on the brothers and convincing them of the horror it would be if he and Rose were romantically involved.

"I don't think so." James said in response to Albus. "Rose and Lily are almost exactly the same. I mean they don't agree with each other, but they certainly have the same personality."

"No, they don't." Scorpius was quickly dragged right back into the discussion. "Lily is… She likes to… Rose…" Scorpius groaned as he leaned back again and James and Albus had begun to laugh. "They are not the same." Scorpius said once more for good measure even though he could think of no fundamental difference between the two. "Lily is smaller than Rose."

James and Albus laughed again, but much harder than moments before. "That's definitely something to be concerned with." James said as though agreeing with Scorpius' sole difference between the women, but all three knew Scorpius had lost the argument to the brothers.


	31. Chapter 31

After a few more days, Albus, as well as Scorpius, joined James, Edward and Rose in tactics as the pressing issue of Godric's Hollow grew. Scorpius had already agreed to go with James and Edward to look through the area, but Albus assured them that Division had no ties to the area, at all. Rose, who was still unsure about the idea, sat idly in the far corner while the four men stood around the table.

"There's not any activity there." Albus said as he looked up at James, then to Edward. "There's a few people living there, I'm sure, and they've done a fairly good job at staying out of Division's sight. There's hardly ever any movement there."

"It's just so close." James said as he turned to look at the map. Godric's Hollow was so close to Division's Headquarters that he had a hard time believe Chris had not already used the area for his own gain.

"There's nothing there." Albus repeated with a shrug, and James nodded. He believe his brother, of course, but was more cautious now than he had been in previous years.

"Say… fifteen?" Edward asked, referring to the number of people James wanted to take on the exploratory trip to Godric's Hollow.

"Do we even have that many people willing to go?" James asked and Edward shrugged.

"I was approached by Draco and Astoria and they've already volunteered." Edward answered and Scorpius turned towards him.

"They did?" Scorpius asked and Edward turned to face him before nodding. "Why?"

"I don't know." Edward answered with a shrug. "But with us and them, we're somewhere around thirteen. I still haven't talked to Hugo, though."

"OK," James nodded as he looked to Edward. "That should be fine then. If a few more want to come, then add, them otherwise that should be enough."

"Good," Rose said, drawing attention to herself. James and Albus turned to her right away, and Edward soon after, but Scorpius took a moment before meeting her gaze. "I suppose you don't need me anymore, then." She commented as she rose to her feet and started towards the door. It was clear from her tone of voice and facial expression that she had been upset by something or someone, but all four of the men in the room were not daring enough to venture a guess as to what it was.

"Why you don't just take a few days." James called out to her, but she said nothing as she disappeared around the corner. James let out a sigh as he turned to Edward, who was equally shocked by Rose's demeanor and behavior.

"This is getting ridiculous." James commented as he forced his gaze to the map on the table. "Everybody has some kind of problem, everyday."

"Well, that's never bothered you until it was Rose's problem." Edward replied and James nodded in agreement. Edward had a point. James was mostly capable of ending bitter problems between others, but Rose's anger was something else entirely and he wasn't sure why.

"James?" A female voice called from the door way, and James looked up, to see Abigail in the doorway. Her voice was much softer than it usually was, but he saw the smile across her face which had somehow managed to light up her eyes made red from tears. "Can we talk?" She asked and James nodded.

"Of course." He responded, his voice also different than normal. Edward, Scorpius, and Albus had all noticed and had exchanged glances with one another, all three grinning as they held back their immature boyish laughs. "Go away, now." James told them simply as he turned to them with narrowed eyes. "I'm sure you all have something you need to be doing anyway."

"Of course." Edward responded and Albus had laughed as he lead the way out of the room. He had eyed Abigail for a moment, but Scorpius had shoved him forward. After Edward followed Scorpius out of the room, he pulled the door shut behind him, leaving Abigail and James in the room alone.

"Where did you find this?" Abigail asked immediately as she dropped her gaze to the beautifully framed photo she held in her hands.

"Well, I hope that's a picture of what I think is." James responded and Abigail let out a laugh as she nodded and looked up at him again.

"It's my mother and Noah." Abigail confirmed as she stepped closer to James. As she reached the table, she set the picture on the edge, letting it stand on its own. As she let go of the picture, however, she did not remove her eyes from it until James lifted it up. He turned it over so that he could look at the picture once more. He recognized the woman in the picture as Abigail's mother, since she had been in many of the other photos in the Minister's office, but he had guessed the small baby in her arms was Abigail's son.

"It was in his desk drawer." James said finally as he rose his gaze to Abigail's eyes as he handed the photo back to her. "It just framed it and put it in your room so you'd find it."

"It's beautiful." Abigail said softly and James smiled at her. Silence fell around them, but neither was particularly uncomfortable. Instead, they allowed themselves to enjoy the quiet, a rarity in the midst of war. After another moment, Abigail met James' gaze as she stepped closer to the table and rested her hands on the edge. "Are you still going to Godric's Hollow?"

"Yes." James answered with a nod.

"Would you care if I came, too?" Abigail asked and James narrowed his eyes at her for a moment.

"To… To stay there, or to come with the expansion core?" James clarified and Abigail remained quiet for a moment.

"Not to stay." She finally answered, sounding confident in her response, but James could detect something off in her tone, even if he could not identify it. "I think I would be too lonely there, by myself."

"You'd rather stay here?" He asked and she slowly nodded.

"I have my father's things here." Abigail replied before she laughed and shrugged. "Even if all the man kept were a bunch of old pictures."

"I think it says something about him." James responded and Abigail was instantly interested in his words. "Of all the priceless things I'm sure a Minster of Magic can have, the only ones he treasured enough to protect were photographs of his daughters. Precious memories. He cared about those more than anything else."

Abigail smiled lightly at James as she stared into his gaze. She'd never noticed the shape of his face until that moment. Well, she certainly had recognized James as an attractive man, but she'd never studied his jaw line or the way his nose didn't seem to fit on his face. Despite the slight imperfection, Abigail found him even more attractive then than she had before he'd found the old photo.

"I didn't have any pictures of him," Abigail broke the silence with her admission. "After we were attacked and they were killed, I ran before I grabbed anything. I used to have a picture of him in a locket I was wearing, but when I was taken they took it from me and that was all I had left of him."

James, who had no children of his own, wasn't sure he could fully understand the gravity of losing their pictures. As Abigail stood before him, only another emotional outburst away from tears, he knew she had been far more affected by the photo than he had expected. He had come across the photo on accident, while riffling through her father's locked desk drawers. After finding it, he'd actually considered putting it back out of fear she might be upset he'd actually been daring enough to snoop through the personal belongings of the Minister of Magic.

"Well, if her reputation holds, I'm sure Astoria can muster a pretty strong protection spell, if you ask her." James suggested as Abigail reached out for the photo again. She'd averted her eyes from his, but that had not been enough to hide the tears. Since she had made the attempt to hide them, James pretended he hadn't seen them. For a moment, Abigail kept her gaze downward, until she eventually forced her eyes to meet his.

She'd given up on hiding the tears, and James only smiled at her as he stepped closer. Moving around the table, he debated whether or not to brush her tears away. After recalling the kiss she'd planted on him a few days prior, he reached out slowly and wiped the tears with his thumb, a gentle reassuring smile across his lips. His palm had touched her cheek, and lingered there longer than he'd meant for it to, but Abigail hadn't seemed to mind. On the contrary, Abigail had stepped closer to James, and he swore he felt her tilt her head towards his hand, but he wrote it off as wishful thinking on his part.

When it continued, James had reconsidered his original thought process. As he slide his thumb over her cheek bone, he felt her press against his hand once more, causing a smile to form across his lips. Slowly, almost as though unsure of what he was doing, James bent down to lower his lips to hers. At first, it was just mere contact, but that had been more than enough to remind James of all his childish anxieties.

He'd never had a real relationship in his life and he was already nearing his thirties. Of course, that wasn't entirely his own fault, but he knew Albus, Lily, and Scorpius had been more than capable of finding love during war. Even Rose had, she was defiantly the cousin he'd bet on years go to end up alone. Unfortunately, karma had come back to him and it had been him instead.

Now, as Abigail, a woman who excited him in every sense of the word, even the bad ones, had her lips willingly pressed against his own, he suddenly far more aware of things that had never mattered to him before. Like the smell of her hair. He knew Rose and Lily's hair smelled almost the exact same way, and yet it was infinitely more attractive on Abigail for obvious reasons. He was also keenly aware that he was wearing an old shirt from his Hogwarts years. Never mind all the nice shirts, non-torn, un-stained, perfectly presentable shirts he owned. He was wearing the one he'd fallen fifty feet to land in a pool of mud during a Quidditch match during Slytherin. And he wasn't even entirely sure the smell had completely gone away.

Once Abigail's hands had touched his chest, James' mind had suddenly gone blank. Sure, it'd been years since he last kissed a woman, but it had all come flying back in amazingly vivid details. The hand resting on her cheek had curled to the back of her neck and his fingers tangled in her dark locks. His other hand moved to her waist but had soon moved to the small of her back as he arm wrapped around her. As the kiss deepened, Abigail moved her hands to his neck, and eventually her arms wrapped around his neck.

Having lost all touch with reality, James pulled from the kiss and had immediately reattached his lips to the side of her neck after pulling her hair out of the way. The soft moans and other indiscernible sounds escaping her lips was far more than enough to urge him to continue, and as such, he took hold of her waist before lifting her feet off of the ground. After setting her on the edge of the table, he continued to leave the kisses along her neck, stopping in the areas she seemed to enjoy the most.

Her fingers had tangled into his short locks, and though James was already enjoying himself, the light massaging rhythm her fingers created against his scalp was almost more than he could handle. Eventually, he found her lips again, and for a second time, they were locked in an intimate and passionate kiss. Slowly, James hand started to move his hand from her waist to her leg, but had stopped when her hand landed on top of his. Being the respectful man his father had raised him to be, James would never do anything a woman wasn't comfortable with, but as he pulled back and looked into her eyes, he had a feeling she'd stopped him for reasons other than physical intimacy.

As James stepped back from her, he forced himself to breathe and think clearly, though the sight of Abigail was certainly making that difficult. Her shirt was pulled down on one side where he had been kissing her, and her hair was out of place as well, and even after she fixed herself, James already had the imagine burned into his mind.

It was her eyes, however, that had James pausing. And the way her smile faded far too quickly for his tastes.

"We shouldn't be…" Abigail started to shake her head, and James did his best to hold his straight face. "It's just too… It's too complicated with everything, and…"

James had slowly started to nod, wanting to comfort her, but he had a difficult time pretending to agree with her. Of course, he understood her fears. They were the same ones that had plagued him for years, but now with Abigail standing in front of him, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to care. He'd spent way too many night alone to care anymore. Especially when Abigail was the girl to make him forget all the silly impediments between him and love.

"Yeah," James finally forced himself to say anything as he took another step backward to lean against the wall. He ran his hand through his hair as he focused on his breathing and shut his eyes. He willed the thoughts of her out of his mind, but they lingered anyway, making it so much harder when he peered at her again. "I understand." He finally said as he nodded again, but with more conviction than before.

Abigail stared at him, knowing she had crushed him, even if he was gentle enough to attempt to hide it from her. She chewed on her bottom lip as she kept her eyes on him, wishing everything was different. She didn't know what she wanted specifically, just anything but the situation she'd found herself in. She wished she and James had just kept on arguing. Or that she'd been killed years ago. Or that her husband, a man James had somehow managed to push from her thoughts, was still alive and with her. Anything but the pain from rejection James couldn't keep from infecting his eyes.

When she breathed in a ragged, uneven breath, James knew she was close to tears. She averted her gaze downward, but James kept his eyes on her. It'd only been maybe a month since she'd been around, and yet she had such a control over him, even if she clearly had no desire to have any power at all.

"It's ok," James finally said, but Abigail shook her head as she looked up at him again.

"It's not, and we both know that." She told him, holding his gaze.

"You told me to have faith." He replied as he stepped towards her, but paused when her shoulders tense. "And now you're the one who won't trust."

"Sometimes broken things can't be fixed."

"Well, why don't you go deliver our white flag to Division, then?" James replied sharply. She didn't seem to be affected by his words, but she knew he wouldn't have such a thing if she hadn't pushed him away. Perhaps she deserved it, since his only crime was seeking the love she'd told him to have faith existed.

"I just can't, James."

"I wasn't going to force you to do anything." James responded, and though she believe his words, she also noticed the difficulty he had saying them. "And you don't owe me any answers."


	32. Chapter 32

"I think that's it." Edward said simply as he and James stood across from each other in tactics. They had been going over different maps of Godric's Hollow the day before they planned to leave so that they could have an idea of how to exit in a rush should the need be. "It's late. We should probably get some sleep."

"I'm fine." James replied but Edward narrowed his eyes at James. When Edward said nothing, James slowly looked up at him, showing the dark circles under his eyes. If Edward was sure of anything, it was that James was certainly not fine.

"What happened?" Edward asked with a straight face and James sighed as he shook his head. He knew there wasn't a way out of the question, but he couldn't find the words either. "Is it Rose? She hasn't been playing well with others lately."

James let himself laugh, relieved Edward still had the ability to make him smile. "Abigail."

"You mean she's not evil?" Edward asked with unconvinced narrowed eyes. When James peered up at him again, Edward nodded softly. "What happened with her?"

"Nothing," James said with a shrug. "We were… I don't even know." He admitted. "I couldn't sleep one night so I went all the way to the eighth floor and I found the Minister's office and uh… she was already there. And we ended up talking a lot."

"So, when you say nothing, you literally mean nothing." Edward replied and James smiled again but shook his head.

"We kissed that day she came here and you guys left. But she… she doesn't want anything."

"At all?"

"Nothing." James repeated and Edward's face contorted into an odd facial expression. "So that's it."

"There's tons of other women, James."

"I know that, Edward." He replied, obviously annoyed at the piece of advice. "But it's not like that. I didn't go looking for anything, it just happened. And as quickly as it happened, it ended. There's not much else to it."

"Well, maybe after some time, you'll let go." Edward said as he stepped towards the door. "But it's late and we leave tomorrow, so I think you should get some sleep."

"I will," James promised, and Edward paused for a moment as he watched James. Eventually, he nodded and left the room, letting the door close quietly behind him. James pulled the chair over from the corner and sat at the table. He wasn't looking at the maps anymore, but was instead letting his mind wander. Of course, the problem with that was that thoughts often wandered towards Abigail. That was the exact reason he'd stopped sleeping. He couldn't lay in bed long enough to fall asleep without Abigail haunting him. Eventually, he gave up anyway, and hoped his exhaustion was enough to put him to sleep relatively early.

After leaving the room, he shut the door behind him and walked down the hallway. He had to climb a set of stairs to the second floor and walked down a corridor before he turned the corner. Staring down the hallway, he spotted Abigail standing against the wall across from his door. Since she had not spotting him yet, James paused for a moment as he watched her. For a moment, she remained leaning against the wall until she stood up straight and took a step towards the door. She raised her hand, as though to knock on the door, but never lowered her knuckles to the door.

Deciding, he'd watched enough, James continued down the hallway, his footsteps, pulling her attention to him. "Did you want to talk?" James asked casually as he neared her. She remained quiet for a moment, before she took in a deep breath, and nodded. "Ok," He told her as he reached his door and held it open for her. Walking beneath his arm, Abigail walked into the bedroom, and peered around.

"Sorry it's a mess." James said nonchalantly as he wandered towards his dresser against the wall on the right. His bed was made up, and was repositioned in the center of the room, pushed against the back wall, since Lily's bed had been removed.

"It's fine," Abigail said softly as she sat on the edge of his bed. She turned her gaze towards him, only to find that he had pulled his shirt over his head and tossed the shirt to the side. The mystery of his cluttered room was instantly solved, but Abigail was preoccupied with his half naked form. Forcing her eyes away from him, she focused on the floor beneath her feet, while James turned back to her. He was pulling a clean shirt over his head when she faced him again.

"You look like you haven't slept."

"I haven't." James replied.

"Hugo has sleeping potions." Abigail pointed out and James nodded.

"I'm not going to take the supplies meant for patients." James replied, though he knew Abigail had not come to his room to talk about his sleeping habits. "Was there something you needed?"

"I just…" Abigail trailed off as she chewed her bottom lip. "I want to my father's office and I just… You're always there and this time you weren't and I just…"

James could feel the odd mixture of pain and warmth gathering in his chest as he watched her. Her gaze was directed downward, and her fingers were forming fists around his covers. He wanted to console her, and yet he knew she did not want any kind of romantic relationship. Though he knew he could be perfectly happy talking to her like they had before, he doubted his heart would be satisfied for very long. He knew what he wanted from Abigail, but she didn't share the same desire, and so James forced himself to remain withdrawn, no matter how difficult a task it was proving itself to be.

"I've been working," James said and Abigail drew in a deep breath as she nodded and faced him again. "We're leaving tomorrow. I don't know if you're still coming."

"Yes." Abigail nodded. "I'll come."

"Ok." James replied, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm sorry," Abigail said before silence could reach them. James neared her and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, but left space between them.

"What are you apologizing for?" James asked as he turned to look at her. His face was so gentle, while Abigail's was riddled with pain and confusion.

"I just… I miss you, but I know that we… I know what you want, but I miss talking to you. And seeing you every night. I miss arguing with you." Abigail admitted as she faced him, freely letting the tears fall from her eyes. Unable to bear the sight, James wiped away the tears, but was careful to limit their touches.

"I just can't." James admitted as he shook his head. "I can't be that close to you knowing that you don't want me."

"But I-" Abigail stopped herself as she shut her eyes tightly, forcing more tears out. "I do want you."

"But I still can't have you." James replied. He couldn't help himself and eventually pressed his palm against her cheek. She tilted her head into his hand, and he knew he was setting himself up for more pain than he was sure his heart could bear. Abigail didn't respond to him, and instead held his gaze. Slowly, she moved forward and pressed her lips against his cheek. She felt James' body go tense at the touch, and as she pulled away, she saw he had shut his eyes tightly. He almost appeared as though someone were inflicting pain on him, but as she grazed her lips against his other cheek, he drew in a ragged breath, telling her he was in no pain. It took every ounce of his self restraint to receive the chaste kisses from her without returning his own sentiments.

"Do you want me to stop?" Abigail asked softly and James shook his head lightly. He knew he shouldn't have let her get so close, but now, when she was already touching him, he couldn't let her go. It was exactly what he had been afraid of, and it had happened anyway.

"Don't stop," James said, his voice deeper than normal. Though he could not see her, Abigail nodded gently before she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. He heard his breath catch as he turned his head towards her slightly, though his eyes remained closed. She knew his lips were there for her to kiss, and all she needed to do was the lean forward. As she pondered the thought, she reached up with one hand and with her thumb, she traced over his bottom lip.

As he let his shoulders relax, he puckered his lips lightly to press a soft kiss to her finger. She knew it was completely up to her to continue with the soft, affectionate touches. James was far too respectful to ever make advances after she'd already stopped him once before. And yet, as he sat beside her, she felt terrible for all she'd done to him. She hadn't meant to drawn him into her, but she hadn't meant to fall for him either. And now, as James savored anything she gave him, she hated to leave him with so little. She hated not having a moment for herself.

Finally, Abigail lowered her lips to his, and was immediately met by his pent up affections. So as not to waste a moment, the arm closest to her wrapped around her waist while his other hand reached for her cheek. When Abigail had leaned into him even more, he laid back on the bed, letting Abigail take the space above him.

**X**

James had barely pulled a clean shirt over his head when he walked out of his bedroom. Behind him, Abigail was frantically pulling her dark locks into a tight bun at the back of her head, so as to keep her hair from falling in her face. Because he hadn't been paying attention, James had almost run into Edward, who was standing just outside James' bedroom to retrieve him.

"I know slept in." James told him simply before he turned back to Abigail.

"I'm coming," She told him before he said anything. After Abigail had walked out of the bedroom, James closed the door behind her quickly locked the room with a simple spell before he lead the way down the corridor.

"Rose almost replaced you," Edward commented, but James did not respond. He effective ignored it once they reached the stairwell and climbed the set of stairs leading to the top floor of the building. Near the exit, a group of people were gathered and as James pushed his way through, he found Rose standing in the center. She was clearly not happy with his tardiness, but her gaze had quickly shifted to Abigail standing behind James. Rose was not foolish enough to think James and Abigail happened to be late for the same amount of time, but left the matter alone as she turned to the others. She continued to take names as brooms were handed out, effectively ignoring James.

Within a few minutes, the group of people was piling out of the building, flying rather low in the direction of Godric's Hollow. Eventually, James had taken the lead of about half the group. Edward had taken the other half, and the two separated so as to avoid a mass attack on all fifteen or so unprepared fliers. On James' right, Abigail flew beside him. Scorpius was on his left and Albus trailed behind them completely the diamond. Albus and Scorpius were acutely aware of Draco and Astoria behind them, but both hoped their presence would not create an unbalance.

Though Albus had not been around the Malfoys for very long, he knew their mere presence had caused more trouble than anyone would have ever expected. Of course, it should've been a happy occasion to discover Scorpius' long lost parents still alive and relatively unharmed, and yet it had become less happy fairly quickly. It wasn't that anybody directly disliked either of Scorpius' parents. Instead, everyone understood the role they were meant to play in Scorpius' life before they had gone missing. For them to return to their roles as parents undermined the family James, Albus, Rose, and Hugo had grown up accustomed to. Even Scorpius felt the rift, but he was far too afraid to ever say such a thing to the parents whom he never had.

James, on the other hand, had been more than outspoken about the matter, but Albus was keeping a neutral position between his family and Scorpius'. It seemed that within a relatively short time frame, everyone had found a place around the newest additions to the revolutions. Everyone except Scorpius.


	33. Chapter 33

Lily had still been unable to acquire a wand, and so she sat at dinner beside Chris with no means of real protection, other than the bejeweled dagger she'd strapped to her leg beneath her dress. That of course would be useless in the face of spells, but it was better than nothing. Chatter continued around her as though nothing were amiss, but she remained perfectly quiet. She no longer gave her opinion on the matters at hand, but only Chris disliked the change in her. As clearly as Lily was not in support of Chris and the Division, the other men hated her returned presence.

Lily had lifted her glass to her lips and finished her wine before she set the glass back on the table. She eyed the red lip marks along the outside of the glass as footsteps grew louder and closer to her. When they had stopped, she lifted the glass to her shoulder and let the attendant fill the glass with ruby red contents once more. After taking another sip, Lily slowly turned her gaze to Chris.

He had noticed the change in her demeanor, but he refused to accept that Lily was no longer a supporter of his power. He foolishly believed she ever had been, while nearly everyone else saw Lily for what she was. Though she hated to hear the words spoken, she knew they were true. She was nothing more than a woman who understood all the things her body could give her.

"Is something bothering you?" Chris asked, his tone kind and almost caring. He held Lily's gaze, but her face did not give away any emotions.

"I would like a spare wand." Lily finally said, careful to keep her face soft and tone gentle.

"Not yet." Chris replied and Lily turned her eyes back to her dinner plate. She could feel the eyes of the others at the table watching her carefully. They were definitely afraid of what Lily might do or say next. When she was in completely control of her demeanor and appeared as dainty as a damsel in distress, she had far more power over Chris than any other man with logic.

"I can't imagine who it is telling you that you can't trust me." Lily's soft tone was a nightmare to the men sitting around her, but Chris appeared genuinely concerned for Lily's well being. As she peered around her for a moment, she noticed the harsh stares she knew she earned, but Chris' face was drastically different.

"A few more days." Chris replied simply and Lily rose an eyebrow at him. She wondered what he truly thought of her and far from reality it was. Nearly everyone else at the table knew exactly what would happen once Lily found herself in possession of a wand. Nobody wanted to guess at the number of dead bodies that could be found within Division's walls, and the men desperately hoped Lily would flee back to her brothers before bringing about disaster. Having all three Potters together was much less worse than one Potter unleashed within Division Headquarters.

The chatter around the table had slowly picked up again, but Chris and Lily remained quiet. Chris kept his eyes on Lily, who was more interested in her meal and wine glass than anybody around her. Stopping the chatter immediately, the main door into the room had slammed open, echoing through the room.

"There's activity in Godric's Hollow!" The small man standing in the doorframe had yelled across the room. Everyone had frozen as they stared at the news bearer, and the words had been enough to draw Lily's attention to him as well. Her eyes had widened at the news, but only the man seated directly across from her noticed.

"Godric's Hollow?" Chris repeated before he turned to the man seated on his left.

"We had always been under the impression Potter had control of the area." The man told him before both turned to Lily. She rose her eye brow at them before she calmly lifted her wine glass to her lips once more.

"Is there anyone in Godric's Hollow?" Chris asked her urgently and Lily continued to drink from her wine glass as though he said nothing. Meticulously, Lily set the wine glass down and turned to him.

"I suppose there is now." Lily answered as she motioned to the messenger still standing in the doorway on the other side of the room.

"I want a real answer!" Chris demanded as he slammed his hands on the table top, though Lily remained completely unaffected.

"Well, I don't know what you want me to say." Lily told him. She was speaking clearly and loudly, and the confidence in her voice had started to irritate Chris.

"Who is in Godric's Hollow!"

"I don't know." Lily replied truthfully. The plans of Godric Hollow had not involved Lily, though she was willing to bet her life James was the one moving into Godric's Hollow. It was a bold move, to partially relocate so close to Division Headquarters, but the Ministry building had reached its maximum occupancy, Lily was sure.

"Shall we attack?" The messenger asked and Chris looked to him, unsure of the decision. First he turned to Lily, who had continued eating and drinking like normal, before he turned to the man on his left. When Lily peered up at him, he nodded softly and Chris turned to the messenger.

"Yes." Chris answered strongly as he rose to his feet. "Get an attack together immediately. Leave now!" He demanded as the men at the table began to hurriedly rise from their seats. As Lily watched them, she caught Ethan's gaze, silently asking if Lily had any kind of plan. She gave him one quick nod, hoping he understood what she had meant, before she rose to her feet and followed Chris out of the room through the back doors.

Chris' pace was quicker than usual, but Lily kept up just fine as they walked through the corridor. When they reached the doors to Lily's room, Chris stopped and opened the door for her. "Stay here," He told her strongly before shutting the door between them.

At first she debated the idea floating around her mind as she walked through her rather large room. In one hand, she held the box of Muggle matches Chris had left for her to use in order to light the matches, while her other hand pushed the hair from her face. She had no wand at her disposal, and it made any escape far more difficult. Of course, the alternative was worse no matter what.

Finally coming to a decision, Lily broke one of the small wooden matches from the pack and held it tightly between her fingers. She eyed the top of the match for only a moment before she struck it against the rough side of the box. Instantly the flame started burning, and Lily eyed it for a moment.

Fire. Exactly what James needed.

Without any other thoughts, Lily tossed the match to the curtains barely reaching the carpeted floor. Moving much more quickly, Lily lit two more matches and tossed them into another area of the room before she went towards the door. She paused for a moment, hoping the sudden attack had left her unguarded. When she pulled the door open, she strode out into the hallway as confidently as she always walked, but found the walkway empty of everyone but her.

Smiling, Lily hurried down the hallway and paused at Chris' room. Silent and empty. Continuing, she reached the area where the hallway joined with another leading to the main area of the Mansion. Before she could turn the corner, one of Chris' personal guards had turned down her corridor, and instantly rose his wand.

"You're not supposed to be out," He accused her, but Lily had quickly push the wand out of her face. Before he could react, she kicked his knee outward and pulled the wand from his fingers. She used a simple silencing spell on him, pleased to find his wand agreed with her much better than Chris'.

Leaving him behind, Lily continued onto the main hallway and followed it towards the main hall of the building. She was standing in the far back of the room when a man standing up on a table was organizing the cluster of men standing around the room. She slipped out of the room before being spotted, but Ethan had seen her. In the masses, he'd somehow managed to follow her to the outside of the building.

"Lily," Ethan called in a hushed voice as she ducked behind a tall bush. Ethan had followed her and between the bushes and trees, the two were hidden from view.

"You need to get out." Lily told him strongly as she put her hand on his wrist and tightened her fingers around his wrist. "You need to leave your cover behind and leave, now."

"Why?" Ethan asked with a confused stare but Lily did not answer as she looked around him to watch the building. "How are you leaving, then?"

"Don't know yet." Lily answered and Ethan reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his wand.

"Go to the prison east of here first then." Ethan told her as he produced a piece of parchment in his spare hand. Slowly, ink began to stain the page and Lily was able to make out a map. "They've pulled the guards to have extra power on the attack against Godric's Hollow. You'll be able to get all the way to the bottom without any trouble. You have a wand, right?"

"I do now." Lily replied as she took the map from him. "What's down there?"

"Trust me, you'll want to stop there." Ethan replied, without really answering the question. "Try picking up a few wands on your way if you can. You might need them."

"And what are you doing?"

"I'm going to divert as many people as I can away from the Hollow."

"Is it James?" Lily asked and Ethan nodded.

For a moment, they remained silent, until Lily folded the map and put it into the top of her dress. With a simple charm, Ethan transformed Lily's long dress into more appropriate clothing and she thanked him with a short nod.

"Give Rose my best," Ethan told her, and Lily didn't respond before she turned and left Ethan hidden in the brush. She didn't look back to see when Ethan had rejoined his group, but after she'd found an area in the garden to hide in, she saw Ethan fly overhead in the center of a group composed of maybe fifteen fliers. They were headed west, towards Godric's Hollow, but Lily had intended to take Ethan's advice and head in the opposite direction.

She had wanted to wait a good amount of time before fleeing, so as not to pull attention to her, but she was instantly reminded of her fire when the faint smell of smoke reached her. Deciding she had no more time left to wait out, Lily conjured a broom and flew relatively low to the ground in the direction Ethan had indicated on his roughly drawn map. After clearing the gardens, and avoiding a few of Chris' groups for attack, she spotted the prison she hadn't really noticed until then. Perhaps she had seen the building several times before, but she had never paid it any great attention until Ethan had specifically pointed it out.

The closer she got to the building, the closer to the ground she flew. It was a ways away from Division Headquarters, but she could not afford to be seen. Thankfully, James' movement into Godric's Hollow was quite the distraction. Per Ethan's warning, Lily found only a single guard at the entrance of the prison. She had quickly knocked him unconscious and gathered the wand from his grasp. Before entering the prison, she hid it away in a pocket on her pants, knowing anybody she released from the prison would request possession of it.

As she moved through the dark hallways of the prison, she opted to create portkeys out of rocks and various objects within each individual's cell. The people who appeared most frail she sent to the Ministry building, hoping Hugo could provide them with care. The witches and wizards who seem capable of basic defense, Lily sent to Godric's Hollow. She had no idea what James' plans were and hoped her decision was more helpful than hurtful.

It took quite a while, but eventually Lily reached the bottom floor of the prison, guarded by a second guard. He had almost hit her with a spell just as she descended the stairs, but she had been lucky enough to dodge the light. Firing back, Lily managed to send the man flying towards the back wall. She quickly got hold of his wand and with the use of a second spell, she rendered him unconscious.

"Lily?" A man's voice called for her, and it sounded vaguely familiar to her ears. As she turned back, her eyes followed the direction of the voice, until she found the aging man held within the confines of one of the cells. She recognized his face as quickly as she had Scorpius' under the same, if not worse, conditions. Except Lily was filled with more emotions coursing through her now than she had when she found Scorpius and his parents.

"Daddy," Lily had returned to her childhood for a brief moment as she stepped towards the cell. She knew dwelling any longer would create tears, and she certainly wasn't in the time or place to be weeping. Forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, Lily stopped a few feet away from the door and blasted away the lock with a simple spell. When she turned to peer around the bottom floor, she found another familiar face, and sent him a small smile before unlocking Uncle Ron's locked door as well.


	34. Chapter 34

As Harry climbed out of his small cell, Lily reached for his hand, but noticed the long wound down his side. She peered up into his eyes for a moment, wondering if he recalled the time she tried her hand at healing several years ago.

"Want me to heal?" She asked and was met with his stare. She had thought after some ten years, he'd have forgotten it, and yet she felt like a child all over again. "Never mind," She replied as she turned to her uncle also joining Harry on his other side. "Wand?" She asked as she produced the wand from her pocket and held it out. Ron had taken it first, and Harry had opted out of a wand.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked as he braced most of Harry's weight on himself. Lily had underestimated how wounded her father was, but tried not to let her emotions overwhelm her yet.

"Um…" Lily stared at her uncle, then at her father. "Godric's Hollow?"

"Are you asking?" Harry replied.

"No." Lily answered, shaking her head. She was positive it was impossible to return to one's childhood, and yet she could've sworn she was fifteen being chastised by her father. "Can you handle Apparation?"

"Do I have a choice?" Harry asked as he looked down at his daughter.

"We can fly, if you really want to." Lily replied. "But um… James has accidently started a battle and we'd have to pass through it to get there."

"Accidently?" Harry repeated and Lily nodded slowly. "How do you accidently start a battle?"

"That's a really good question," Lily replied as she averted her gaze. "We'll be sure to ask when we get there. Everyone ready?" When Ron replied that he was, Lily Apparated with the men holding on. She hadn't a clue what was happening in Godric's Hollow, but she was relieved to spot Hugo right away.

He seemed to have set up a small infirmary out of one of the buildings where people where being carried in, or rushing out of. In the streets, people ran up and down, some wounded and bleeding, others directing the mass amounts of people.

"Hugo!" Lily yelled, hoping he could hear her voice over the chaos. When he turned in her direction she called for him again before he spotted her exact location. "You have an empty space?"

"Yes." Hugo nodded, as he looked to Harry's wound. For a moment, Hugo was uncharacteristically distracted by his father's presence, but Lily had snapped him back to the open wound down Harry's body.

"Rose will want to see you." Hugo said as he replaced his father on Harry's side. Together, the cousins walked with Harry towards the building marked off as Hugo's infirmary. "Did you start the fire?"

"Was it too much?" Lily asked and Hugo let out a dry laugh.

"Made James' day. You'll want to stick around here. Scorpius will be coming here after he's done."

"He left with them?" Lily asked as they entered the building. Hugo had motioned to a nearby bed and Harry had pulled himself up.

"Yes," Hugo nodded as he faced Lily. "He wanted to find you. But you're not to leave, Lily. James will kill you if you leave."

"He can do what he wants." Lily replied and Hugo rolled his eyes as he focused on Harry's wound. Lily turned to her father as well and took his hand as she held his gaze. His glasses were cracked and ill-fitted, but Lily had fixed them with a simple spell. "I love you," Lily whispered before she pressed her lips to his cheek. "I'll be back."

"Lily, don't!" Harry yelled and Hugo had attempted to grab hold of her wrist. Lily expertly escaped from Hugo's grasp and left the building hurriedly.

"Draco!" Hugo yelled as he turned to peer down the hallway of the room. "Stop Lily before she leaves! She wants to go after Scorpius."

Harry watched in shock as Draco Malfoy approached the edge of his bed. Hugo pointed towards the door, and the former classmates stared at each other for only a moment before Draco turned and left the room at a run. Hugo sighed as he finished bandaging Harry's wounds. With a charm, Hugo changed Harry's clothes into cleaner, more fitted and comfortable clothing, before he smiled at his uncle.

"What's going on?" Harry asked and Hugo's smile faded.

"War." Hugo answered simply. Before Harry had responded, Ron had walked towards the pair, but had wrapped his arms around Hugo without saying anything. Hugo's face broke into a wide smile as he hugged his father back, welcoming the kiss on his forehead even if he was far too old for such affections. Harry watched enviously, but rested assured at least two of his children were alive. He hadn't seen or heard anything of Albus, but still had hope, nonetheless.

"You're ok." Ron said as he pulled back and looked at Hugo. His hands were on the sides of Hugo's face, but Hugo made no attempt to break from the grasp. "Where's Rose?"

"Organizing. We're in the middle of a battle." Hugo answered.

"And Albus?" Harry asked and Hugo turned to him.

"With Scorpius and James." Hugo answered, then watched as the worry began to fill Harry's face. Essentially, three of his children had left to battle at the same moment they could've been reunited. "They always come back." Hugo said and Harry let out a dry laugh at the stark contrast between the father and son before him.

"She got away." Draco's voice pulled Hugo's attention to the doorway. Draco was panting and attempting to catch his breath as he looked to Hugo but his gaze soon turned to Ron, then to Harry.

"You're alive." Harry said simply, his words shattering the odd silence between the three schoolmates.

"Well, so are you." Draco replied, but his tone wasn't nearly as sarcastic or harsh as his words.

"It's been…." Harry started but trailed off as he looked to Hugo.

"You've been missing for ten years." Hugo said as he looked to Hugo, then his father. "Draco and Astoria have been gone for twenty two."

"Ten years?" Harry repeated and Hugo slowly nodded. "Where is Ginny?"

"Oh," Hugo's face had lost color as he stared at Harry, completely unable to say the words. He'd always been the one to call when one needed treatment of physical problems. He was also known to talk things out with especially traumatized patients, but it had never been in Hugo's realm to deliver bad news. That had always been Rose and James' roles, and now as neither were there, Hugo knew he owed his uncle and father some kind of answer.

"Ok," Harry said as he nodded. In the silence, he'd gathered enough to assume his wife had passed, most likely from warfare. "It's alright, Hugo." Harry assured him as he reached out to touch Hugo's hand. Hugo nodded as he averted his eyes, clearly out of his comfort zone, even if surrounded by family.

"She was protecting Scorpius." Draco said the words Hugo couldn't. Harry turned to Draco, as had Ron, neither displaying shock at the news. If Draco had ever doubted Scorpius' place in the Potter family, he certainly didn't anymore. The news that Ginny Potter had given her life for his son appeared to be more expected than surprising judging from the faces of Draco's old classmates. Of course, that realization only deepened his own insecurities as Scorpius' father. Clearly, the three men were having a conversation about a mother saving her son, and the boy's father had just heard the news. Nowhere in that situation was Draco included, and that had been the hardest to accept he quickly realized.

"How long ago?" Harry asked.

"A few months after you two went missing." Hugo answered with a slight shrug. "Lily and I were barricaded in Hogwarts. Division had just taken over, but we couldn't get out. Ginny had expected that and gave Lily your map so right when they hit, she got me and we ran. We hid in an old area of the castle in a hidden room. James had promised he would get us if that had ever happened."

"Did he?" Ron asked and Hugo nodded.

"The first attempt was when Ginny was killed. They came back a few days later and Scorpius found us."

"Hogwarts now?" Harry asked.

"Abandoned. It's our official recommendation that families with school aged children either enlist their children as full time residents at Beauxbatons, or to relocatd in America and attend a school there." Hugo explained and Harry stared at the boy in amazement. Of course, Hugo wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man stuck in war with his family. He was giving out official recommendations and had taken on responsibilities Harry and Ron collectively would have given their lives if it had meant their children would've been spared such a life.

"Beauxbatons houses children year round?" Harry asked.

"They do now." Hugo answered. "We had too many kids here. After a few years we realized that they were being orphaned by these battles and we don't have the emotional or physical support to have that many children running around. As long as parents are confirmed dead, or missing longer than a month, we can send them to Beauxbatons for full time care. We only keep a handful of kids with us."

"You have everything figured out, don't you?" Ron asked, a bitter tone eating at his words.

"Not everything." Hugo replied as he turned to his father. "I have to keep working, but I'll send for Rose. Right now we don't have any housing open, but as soon as I get the final numbers I can put you somewhere." Hugo explained, but neither Ron, nor Harry seemed too concerned with their immediate fate.

"Give them our room." Draco said and Hugo turned to him, too surprised to respond. "We can share with Scorpius," He added, but Hugo appeared adverse to the idea.

"We'll wait for Lily and Scorpius to return with James and Albus. They might have a better solution." Hugo replied simply before he pulled aside a woman who had been walking past the edge of Harry's bed. "Send a messenger for Rose, please. Tell her its urgent and requires her attention immediately."

"Shall I say what it is?"

"No," Hugo answered. "Just make sure you drag her over her kicking and screaming." Hugo replied before he turned and left the bed space. The woman had left in the opposite direction, leaving the three men alone. Ron had found a chair and was sitting beside Harry, but Draco remained standing at the foot of the bed. Though neither said anything, Ron and Harry recognized the defeat across Draco's face.

"Why do you take him in?" Draco finally asked and Harry sighed as he shook his head.

"Not now." Harry answered after a moment. "All of my kids are basically missing."

"Including Scorpius." Draco replied, but it had been more of a statement than an actual question.

"Do you want me to say yes?" Harry replied, but Draco had looked away from his gaze. It was trivial in the scope of the entire war, and yet the useless and all together ridiculous competition of who was Scorpius' father hung between the former enemies. Draco owed the man his son's life, and yet Draco's jealousy was more than enough to provoke misguided anger.

The silence lingered between them, but was thankfully shattered when Rose stepped through the nearby doorframe. Ron had nearly jumped when he saw her and had immediately pulled her into his embrace. They shared their intimate moment before Rose turned and gave a kiss and hug to her uncle as well. By the time Ron or Harry had check, Draco had already left.


	35. Chapter 35

Whether or not Ethan had intended to take Lily's advice and leave his place in Division was irrelevant. Once the out walls had caught fire, only James, Albus, and Scorpius wandered into the building. The three thought better than to venture too far inside while the building was collapsing, but Albus had found Ethan unconscious in one of the rooms he had been moving through. After disarming the other Division members in the room, Albus had lifted Ethan and carried him out of the building, effectively destroying Ethan's cover.

As Albus and Ethan returned to Godric's Hollow, James and Scorpius remained at Division Headquarters. The battle overhead continued, but James was more concerned with finding Christopher Adler. He had no information on where he had gone or if he'd even survived the sudden fire. Eventually, the two were forced to evacuate, and had done so just in time. The east wing had fallen first, but the other half of the building remained standing for only a few minutes longer.

Instead of waiting or joining the battle, both decided to return to Godric's Hollow. James had to convince Scorpius to do so, since he was far too concerned with Lily's whereabouts. Once they reached Godric's Hollow, however, they were told Lily had been there, and had arrived with her father and Ron. When the two men went to the infirmary, they had quickly found Harry and Ron, whom Hugo had moved further into the infirmary so they drew less attention.

Both men had stopped at the edge of Harry's bed, neither sure of what to say. Eventually, it was James who stepped forward first and hugged his father tightly, welcoming the kiss Harry placed on the side of his face. Ron was watching the pair for a moment, before he turned his eyes to Scorpius, still smiling. Scorpius had actually laughed before he walked around the bed and hugged Ron, who had been an uncle to him throughout his childhood. After James and Harry separated, Scorpius hugged Harry as well. Eventually the two young men remained standing, one on each side of Harry's bed, while Ron took his seat again.

"You're so tall." Harry commented as he looked up at Scorpius and laughed. "Were you always this tall?"

"Yes." Scorpius answered nodding. Harry only laughed before he turned his gaze to James.

"Where is Albus?"

"I don't know." James answered. "He wasn't with us at the end. I thought he left before us." Harry's face had fallen slightly, but James shook his head and smiled as he bent down on the side of his father's bed. "He's fine. He can take care of himself."

"And Lily?"

"Well, Lily's the one you don't have to worry about." James replied with slightly narrowed eyes. "I had her grounded, but-"

"She got away." Draco's voice pulled James and Scorpius' attention to the end of Harry's bed. "I tried to stop her and she tried to hex me."

"Great," Scorpius said sarcastically, and Draco turned his attention to him.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Scorpius answered, holding Draco's gaze for only a few moments before he turned to James. He saw the odd position Scorpius had suddenly be placed in, but neither could do anything about it.

"I thought you weren't going to leave."

"Of course I was going to leave." Scorpius answered as he turned back to Draco.

"We were worried about you."

"I'm fine."

Harry recognized Scorpius' tone as one his children had often used in order to push himself and Ginny out of their immediate space. Usually implored during their least rational teenage years, the tone seemed out of place, but Harry had no idea as to what kind of relationship was between the estranged father and son.

"Let's check in with Hugo before we do anything." James suggested and Scorpius nodded in agreement. Without any other words, the two filed out of the small bed space, leaving the three aging men to their own devices. James waited until he and Scorpius had moved further through the makeshift infirmary before he broached the topic of Scorpius' two fathers so as to keep their words exchanged in private.

"Do you think they'll argue?" James asked curiously and Scorpius groaned at the mere possibility. The two were no strangers to the Potter Malfoy feud, even if it hadn't been in practice their entire lives, other than perfectly health sibling rivalry. That, of course, would not apply to the elder Potter and Malfoy men.

"I don't even know how to approach my…"

"Real dad?" James offered as the two accidently stumbled upon Hugo, who had been exiting one of the curtained off bed spaces.

"I don't like using those words." Scorpius admitted and Hugo rose his eyebrow at the older men.

"They are getting along fairly well on an utterly polite, I haven't seen you alive in twenty years so or way." Hugo told them, jumping right into the center of their conversation he'd only heard a single piece of. Scorpius sighed as James nodded, neither really objecting to Hugo's odd way of inviting himself into conversation. "Cuts and bruises?" He asked, moving on to his area of expertise, or at least his official one. He'd long been the sounding board for his sister and cousins, and more often than not, they went in search of Hugo's coveted advice.

"Mostly." James answered and Hugo pointed them to an empty bed space a few spaces over. As he drew the curtains around them so provide some privacy, Scorpius and James removed their shirts and sat on one side of the bed, side by side.

"I don't even know how to address them." Scorpius admitted as Hugo had begun to heal his smaller cuts resulting from a few falls off of his broom or debris falling on him when he wandered through the building with James.

"I think you should talk to them separately about that one." Hugo said as he walked around the bed to get the cuts and bruises along each of their backs.

"But that can't go well, can it? At all?" James asked and Scorpius groaned.

"Of course not. Don't be daft." He commented. "I've called your dad my dad all my life, and who thinks Draco is going to perfectly fine with that one? And then there's my relationship with Lily. Do I have to be the one to tell him about him? Because that's just kind of weird."

"You've spent the last eight years telling us it isn't weird and now-"

"Things are just a bit different now, wouldn't you say?" Scorpius stopped James mid-sentence out of his own anger. James just ignored it.

"Well you are a Malfoy now." Hugo commented, and Scorpius went quiet as his thoughts consumed him. "I think Harry will think it's weird in the beginning like all of us did, but he'll adjust all the same. And since you do have a relationship, it separates yourself from being their siblings. It sort of aligns you with your biological parents."

"I don't want to remove myself." Scorpius replied, then hissed when Hugo cleaned one of his larger wounds.

"I don't think it's entirely possible to remove yourself from the ties of your adoptive family." Hugo answered, carrying on the conversation as though they were having it over tea.

"I agree." James put in just before Hugo transferred his care to him. "It's like you'll suddenly just become just Lily's weird boyfriend or anything."

"Thank you, James." Scorpius replied sarcastically and James let out a laugh though it was cut short when Hugo touched a sensitive wound. "It's just been so long and so many things have changed. How is it fair to ask them to adapt to the way I've changed if they haven't changed in the same way?"

"It has nothing to do with fair." Hugo replied as he finally finished healing or bandaging their wounds. He'd even taken the liberty of mending their torn and ripped clothing. "The fact is you have two fatherly figures who still love you and they'll respect what boundaries you want to have out of that love. The best you can hope for is that they can do so without offending each other, or competing against each other."

"How do I stop that?"

"You don't, Scorpius." Hugo said simply as he shrugged. "They either will or they won't, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"So what do I say to them?"

"Just explain that it was unfortunate that you and your parents were separated so early in your life and that it's not any more their fault than it is yours. And because of that, you were given a new family. And even though they are here together, your father shouldn't try to replace who Harry is to you, because he can never change who Harry was when you were growing up. And similarly, Harry shouldn't try to replace your father in the future and recognize that he didn't take you for his own, but just gave you a home and family."

"Do you want to come with me when I talk to them?" Scorpius asked and James broke into laughter as he rose to his feet from the edge of the bed and pulled the shirt over his head.

"No," Hugo replied with a short laugh. "This is something the three of you need to deal with. I am assuming you can handle your mother just fine."

"Well only because… because she's dead." Scorpius answered, and the two he spoke two understood he meant Ginny.

"Perhaps you should practice the names." Hugo suggested. "After all, I would think it's a bit awkward to call your girlfriend's father 'dad' and your own dad 'Draco,' don't you think?"

"Isn't that replacing them with each other?" Scorpius replied and Hugo only stared back at him.

"I honestly think it'll be easier than you think," Hugo answered but Scorpius' face still displayed his skepticism. "They might surprise you and be far more understanding than you give them credit for." Hugo added as he pulled open the curtain after Scorpius had dressed as well. "If you need anything, just ask," he reminded them before he left the bed space in order to continue seeing his patients and healing the wounds of the people wounded during the recent battle.

James and Scorpius headed in the opposite direction, towards the exit, both silently hoping Draco had left Harry's presence. It was obvious that being with one was quite simple. The trouble came when the two were in close capacity and Scorpius was lost on how to act between them.

As they reached Harry's space, they found Ron had left, but Lily had come to her father's side. She sat on the edge of her chair, pulled up to the side of the bed, and clutched Harry's hand with one of her own.

"Lily," Scorpius said and she turned back to him with a wide smile. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." She replied as she hugged him. She'd even put a soft kiss on his lips, causing James and Scorpius to look to Harry immediately. When he didn't appear too surprised or frazzled by the show of affection, they looked at each other, communicating silently through odd glances.

"She told me." Harry said, pulling Scorpius and James' attention to him. Of course, he noticed their odd glances back and forth. Lily lowered herself from her toes and turned back to Harry as well, a bright smile across her face as she intertwined her fingers with Scorpius'.

"Oh," Scorpius said simply and Lily rolled her eyes as she returned to her seat, releasing his fingers as she did so.

"You're so worried all the time." Lily commented and Scorpius turned to her with narrowed eyes.

"Half the things you do warrant a little worrying, wouldn't you say?" He replied and Lily only shrugged without looking back at him. James had let out a dry laugh as he patted Scorpius on the shoulder.

"Keep an eye out for Albus. And if you see Abigail, let her know I want to see her."

"Where are you going?" Scorpius questioned as he turned to watch James begin to exit his father's bed space.

"I'm going to talk to Rose about everything that's happened. We've almost got this won now!" James' voice was just an echo trailing behind him as he left the couple with Harry, who only watched the pair with a more or less happy expression. Or at least he wasn't raving mad like Scorpius had foolishly expected.


	36. Chapter 36

Healed and more or less healthy, Ron and Harry walked through the streets of Godric's Hollow, but at the request of James they remained nearby the new central point they'd formed in the village. Since the most outer areas of Godric's Hollow had yet to be searched, James, as well as the others, could not risk their long lost parents finding trouble again, even though they were probably capable of fending for themselves with their new replacement wands. The two had had minimal contact with Draco and Astoria Malfoy, but the avoiding happening on each side had only put Scorpius in an even more difficult position.

Scorpius, who was clearly torn between the sets of parental figures, sat on the bed in the room Rose had assigned him to when they first arrived at Godric's Hollow. Lily now shared the room with him, and since it was a large room, a room divider had been charmed to stay in the center of the room and keep sounds on their respective sides. On the other side of the divide, Albus had his own smaller bed.

"I just don't know what to say," Scorpius admitted as he watched Lily comb out her long locks as she stood in front of the long mirror. There hadn't been enough room to move in her vanity table, and she made do with what she had. He was glad her more recent but shorter stay in Division had less of an effect on her strands, and they had retained the shine that had returned to them before she'd left the second time.

"Eventually, you'll be forced to deal with it," Lily replied as she finished tying her hair back and turned to look at him, her head tilted slightly to one side. "And you'll figure out what to say while you're at it."

"That's not helpful." Scorpius told her and she only laughed as she held out a hand to him. As he rose to his feet, he reached out and took her outstretched hand into his palm. Pressing his lips against the back of her hand, he took steps closer and closer to her, before he moved his hands to her waist. He pressed his lips against her for only a brief moment before he pulled away and peered into her eyes. They had not returned to the depth of their relationship four years prior, but both knew they were in no emotional state to be so lost in one another again. Instead, they simply enjoyed each other's company and support.

"I'm sorry. Are you going to help look though the rest of the buildings?" Lily asked curiously as she put her hands on his shoulder and let herself relax against his supportive body.

"No," Scorpius answered even though he knew Lily had wanted him to accompany her. Instead, he'd rather spend time with James and Edward with the tactical issues, mostly because he was still avoiding Draco and Harry, both whom would be helping with the search.

"Fine," Lily let out a dry laugh, but turned towards the room divider when a knock on the thin wood pulled her attention.

"Coming?" Albus asked as he looked at Lily. She nodded at her brother before she pushed herself onto her toes and put a light kiss on Scorpius' cheek. He released her from his grasp, and the siblings left the room, which was located on the top floor of what had been an abandoned building when they had first entered Godric's Hollow. One of the few families with a child stayed in the room across the hall from the younger Potter siblings, and they had agreed to allow Kate stay with them as well, since she was friends with their daughter. Albus and Lily walked down the hallway and down the stairs until they reached the bottom floor. James and Rose shared the room on the far end of the bottom floor, but they weren't in the small house at the time. In the main room the two girls played while somebody was moving about in the renovated kitchen. Without anybody noticing, Albus and Lily left the house and quickly found Rose who was organizing the attempt to finish removing inner threats located within Godric's Hollow.

"Where's Scorpius?" Draco asked as Lily and Albus neared the group. Lily held his gaze for a moment, before she shook her head.

"He's not coming." She answered simply before she turned back to Rose, who had more quickly given her cousins a location to start at than any of the others. Deciding it was safer to keep their parents together and nearby, Rose had Harry and Ron accompany Lily and Albus. Out of convenience, Draco and Astoria were to search the areas close by to the ones Lily and Albus were to search. Of course, all four elder adults knew it was a devised plan to keep them better protected, but only Astoria and Harry didn't care. Draco and Ron were desperately trying to reclaim their independence whereas Harry and Astoria were more than satisfied to see their children.

"This is a nightmare." Albus mumbled as he kicked down an old rotting door that had already been knocked off the hinges. Lily flinched as the splinters flew around them, but followed him into the house nonetheless, clutching her wand at her side. Neither were expecting anything in the old run down building.

"Not that bad." Lily commented as they peered around at the destroyed home. She had neared one of the counters attached to the wall and lifted a picture frame that had been lying down. The glass was shattered and the corner of the frame was broken, but the photo still remained. She actually smiled as she looked down at the young man and presumably his younger sister. They had actually reminded her of her and James, except the age gap between the pair in the photo was a bit bigger than the one between herself and her eldest brother.

"What is it?" Albus asked from the other side of the room, but Lily only shook her head as she replaced the photo.

"Nothing." She answered as she turned back to them but the pair froze when they heard a noise coming from down the hall. Albus nodded slowly to Lily and with wands drawn, the pair slowly moved down the hall one if front of the other. Eventually, they reached a closet door and heard another sound from behind the door. After Lily had crossed to the other side, she and Albus locked eyes before pointed his wand at the door handle and opened the door via spell.

The man instead the closet came out armed and had quickly sent Albus flying back. The old and rotting walls of the building was not strong enough to endure the pressure, and so Albus flew through the room and the wall crashed down behind him. Thankfully, the rest of the house remained standing, and in the midst of the crash, Lily had disarmed him.

"Albus?" Lily called without looking to him. Instead, she kept her eyes on the man, who now stood still at the mercy of Lily's wand.

"Yeah," Albus called back before he groaned. Lily heard the commotion of Harry and Ron coming towards Albus, and the activity had pulled the man's attention away from her. Squeezing through the blocked doorframe, a young girl, maybe just a year or two older than Kate, caught Lily's attention, and her wand quickly dropped when she recognized the pair from the photo she'd recently looked at.

"Who are you?" The man demanded as he pulled the girl back to his side and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"The person who could've killed you," Lily answered sharply, but the man's attention was pulled away from her when the young girl pulled on his arm.

"Look! Evan, it's them!" She yelled and Lily looked down at her confused. She was pointing out of the house, through the large hole Albus had inadvertently created, but she was focused on Astoria and Draco who had come at the sound of the crash. Lily saw Albus was on his feet and stretching as he looked to Harry and Ron.

The man, Evan, had also turned to look, but when the girl ran from his side, he remained still in his place when Lily raised her wand again. The girl had slipped through the big hole in the wall without hurting herself and ran directly towards Astoria and Draco, surprising everybody there, except perhaps Evan.

"Who are you?" Lily demanded and he forced his eyes to her.

"Evan Greengrass."

Her wand fell back to her side as she stared at him, knowing exactly which Greengrass family he was referring to. After a few moments, the young girl returned to the room, dragging Astoria by the hand. Draco was walking behind them, holding a picture frame between his hands. Though it wasn't the same frame Lily had looked at previously, it was just as broken.

"It's your sister." Draco said aloud as he turned to Astoria, but she already knew that.

"Lily!" Harry yelled, and she turned to peer through the broken wall. He was waving her over, but she turned away to look at Astoria and Draco for a moment. when they hadn't noticed her staring, she turned away and ducked through the damaged wall to approach her family on the other side. "You and Albus should go back." Harry said.

"They're Scorpius' cousins." Lily said and Harry shut his eyes tightly as he nodded sharply. He opened his eyes again as he met his adult daughter's gaze. "His cousins, Dad."

"I know, Lily," Harry replied strongly, but it had been years since the properly executed fatherly tone worked over her.

"That means he had family."

"Go back, now." Harry said strongly and Lily shook her head as she let out a breath and turned to her brother. Albus' face showed he too understood the implications of Scorpius' surviving family members.

"And tell Scorpius' what?" Lily replied, her tone taking on an edge Harry knew was also in the faces of his two youngest children.

"Could you just not be difficult, right now?" Harry asked as he put his hand on her shoulder and nudged her towards her brother. "Just take him back to get healed by Hugo."

Without arguing any further, Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Albus. He met her stare, both knowing nothing good could come from the discovery of more of Scorpius' extended family members. Nonetheless, the pair left behind the scene of the somewhat reunited family behind them as they headed in the direction of the center of Godric's Hollow.


	37. Chapter 37

For the first time in years, a family dinner was feasible. In the only empty room in Hugo's infirmary, a few small tables were conjured as well as chairs. Ron sat with Hugo and Rose, while Harry sat with Albus and James. Abigail had sheepishly ventured towards the dinner halfway through and sat with James, her hand resting on his lap the entire time. It was impossible not to see what had started between the pair. Across from them, Lily and Scorpius shared a table, and though Scorpius had battled with his own problems between the Potter and Malfoy families, he was completely at ease. When Kate had awoken that night, she had wandered into the room after asking several of Hugo's nurses where to find Albus.

"Albus," Kate's soft voice called, and he quickly turned his gaze to the doorway. Kate was clutching one of the small toys she had found and Hugo had cleaned and repaired with a few simple spells.

"Kate, what are you doing up?" Albus asked gently as he pushed his seat back and stood up to go towards the girl.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied sheepishly as her eyes landed first on Ron, then on Harry. They were the only two Kate hadn't recognized.

"Who's this?" Harry asked, his tone matching Albus'. It seemed the Potter men had only one way of approaching small children and it was hereditary.

Instead of answering, Albus looked down at Kate and stepped to the side so she could more clearly see Harry. She had found Albus' hand while she held Harry's gaze, as though she were debating whether or not to answer the question. "I'm Kate," she eventually said, then began to blush and tried to hide behind Albus.

James and Scorpius had laughed as Albus pulled her out from behind her and gave her his seat. Standing behind her, Albus pulled her hair back into the pony tail that must've fallen out in her sleep. Kate was only awake for perhaps twenty more minutes, and by then, Albus had picked her up to carry her to a free bed in the infirmary. When he returned, he was met by Harry's odd stare.

"What?" Albus asked as he faced his father.

"Who's that?"

Albus cleared his throat as he stared at his father and took in a deep breath. "Bridget's baby sister," he answered nonchalantly, hoping the conversation wouldn't be as in depth as he knew it would be.

"Bridget," Harry repeated the name as he nodded, as though he knew who Albus was referring to. When Albus said nothing, Harry turned his gaze to his other children. James expertly avoided the stare and paid more attention to Abigail than he had been before. It was Lily who rolled her eyes as she looked at their father.

"Albus' girlfriend from seven years ago," she said simply and Albus drew in a breath. "She uh… didn't make it."

"I'm sorry, Albus," Harry said gently as he turned to look at his son. Albus shook his head, not wanting to talk about Bridget. Harry had picked up on the vibe easily, and turned to James. "Well, how did you two, meet then?"

"I was imprisoned with Scorpius," Abigail answered as she turned to Harry. "And um… they found us."

"I found you," Lily corrected.

"You threatened to leave me there."

"But I didn't."

"Because Scorpius told you not to."

"Oh, whatever," Lily rolled her eyes, as did Scorpius and James.

"Anyway," James said, hoping to pull Abigail's attention away from his sister. "She's the Minister's daughter."

"Really?" Harry asked with one raised eyebrow. "That's certainly not what I was expecting for you, James. Maybe Albus, but never you."

"She doesn't act like a Minister's daughter, though," James replied with a shrug.

"What does that even mean?" Abigail asked as she stared at James, who only shrugged and laughed. She rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Before anybody could say anything, the sound of rushed footsteps down the tiled floor echoed through the room. Hugo drew in a deep breath and slowly let the air pass his lips. He knew what the sound of rushed footsteps meant. Sure enough, mere moments later, the door opened and two women stepped just inside the doorframe.

"There was an explosion," the first said quickly, her eyes falling on Hugo. She was stained with fresh blood down her side and one sleeve of her coat. The other woman, who often helped Rose and Edward with planning was looking at James.

"We think it's Division," she said simply and James quickly rose to his feet.

"Do you think Adler would have come himself?" Lily asked, her question directed to nobody in particular. Scorpius' arm remained around her shoulder as he turned to peer down at her. He didn't really have an answer, so he turned away to face James, then Albus.

"Stay here, please," James requested, directing the comment first to his father and uncle. As he turned towards the door, he looked to Abigail as well. "Or at least try," he added as he looked into her eyes before he left the room quickly. Albus and Rose followed quickly behind. Scorpius and Lily followed last, ignoring Harry's pleas for at least one to stay behind.

As the five exited the infirmary, they were met with Draco and Astoria, both of whom appeared very concerned. Evan was trailing behind them, but young Daphne was nowhere in sight. "Division is attacking from the south side," Evan said quickly, sounding out of breath as he looked between James and Rose.

"Get together a group," James said, his words rushed, as he looked to Rose. The two had quickly moved away in the direction of the new Headquarters, leaving Albus behind with Scorpius and Lily.

"Scorpius, don't go," Astoria said as she reached for Scorpius.

"I have to go," Scorpius told her as he looked into her blue eyes.

"No you don't," Draco replied strongly, sounding more forceful than he had probably meant for. "Just let them go."

"What? Just let them die?" Scorpius asked, and Lily started to pull on his arm. Scorpius was standing between Albus and Lily, and his parents. He was literally between his adoptive family and is long lost parents. It certainly wasn't helpful that Harry and Ron had emerged from the infirmary behind Draco and Astoria.

"They'll be fine," Draco replied, hoping to soothe Scorpius' worries.

"Then I will be too. You two just sit around here with the cousins you failed to mention that I had, and I'll be back in a bit," Scorpius said sharply.

"Scorpius," Lily said his name softly. She noticed the tone in his voice and the anger in his face.

"I didn't know, Scorpius," Astoria said softly. It was clear Scorpius comment had wounded her, even if it had been directed at Draco. Lily couldn't help but feel as though it was easier for Scorpius to be angry with Draco than with his mother, simply because Draco was in fact his father therefore a man.

"What do you mean you didn't know? Your own sister didn't tell you she was pregnant?" Scorpius replied, his voice starting to rise.

"Scorpius, come on," Albus urged, but Scorpius waved him away. He did, however, grasp Lily's hand at his side.

"Not once, but twice," Scorpius continued, but his gaze had shifted from Astoria to Draco.

"They didn't know, Scorpius," Harry finally spoke up as he walked towards the broken Malfoy family. "She ran away before Evan was born. Before your parents went missing."

"How do you know that?" Scorpius asked without looking towards Harry. Instead, he kept his gaze on Draco.

"Your mother's parents had her declared missing," Harry answered as he continued towards Scorpius. Albus had started to walk away, but Lily remained at Scorpius' side.

"Then how do you know about him?" Scorpius demanded as he motioned to Evan. He had finally turned to look at Harry. It was the first time Scorpius appeared angry at Harry, and though it was childish, Draco was glad of it. At least he wasn't alone in Scorpius' anger.

Harry took in a deep breath as he held Scorpius' gaze, unsure of how to answer the question. "Your aunt came to take you when you were about six or seven."

A tense silence fell around the group as Harry endured Scorpius' stare. "What?" Scorpius finally asked. He had started to grip Lily's hand without realizing it.

"You had been with us for almost five years. You and Albus were inseparable. James had started warming up to you finally. And even Lily cared for you, and it was the weekend after you pushed her out of the tree, which is probably the quickest she's ever forgiven anyone for anything."

"So what? You just lied to me and said I had no family? Parents who left me, and nobody else who wanted me?" Scorpius replied, ignoring Harry's attempt to lighten the mood.

"She wanted you, Scorpius."

"Then why?" Scorpius' voice had fallen deeper than it usually was.

"I… Ginny told her to leave and to never come back. We weren't going to let you go, Scorpius. We wanted you."

"Scorpius, let's uh… let's go help Hugo," Lily suggested when Scorpius never responded to Harry. Moments before, a large group of people had flown overhead, and Lily was sure it had been Albus to tell James and Edward to leave without her and Scorpius.

"And what? You just figured that I never deserved to know?" Scorpius asked. He didn't sound as mad as he had been moments before, but a new kind of devastation had overwhelmed him.

"We never really had a chance to tell you," Harry admitted as he held Scorpius' gaze. It was clear how devastated Harry had become in just a few moments as he watched the hurt take shape over the man he considered his son.

"No chance? What not even in passing? 'Hey, by the way…' That's all it takes!"

Silence followed as Lily pulled on Scorpius' arm, urging him to leave his parents for at least a few minutes. "Scorpius, we don't have time to deal with this right now," she told him as she stepped between him and his three parents. Scorpius directed his eyes down towards Lily, knowing she was just putting off the inevitable. Scorpius needed to have that conversation with his biological parents as well as with Harry, but not in the middle of an attack. Lily, though not acting in Scorpius' best short terms intentions, was acting in the best intentions of everybody's lives. With a deep breath, Scorpius followed Lily away from his competing parents and led him towards Rose's central command, in hopes she had somewhere to send them.

Rather than join the battle group from behind, Rose sent Scorpius to await the messenger from James, signaling whether or not more people were needed. Lily stayed behind with Rose, and for once it seemed the pair of cousins had made peace. Of course, since Lily's boyfriend was currently battling his own inner demons and Rose's only love was still in one of Hugo's bed, neither woman wanted to argue least of all with each other.

Eventually the chilling quiet that followed the beginning of a battle set in, and Lily found was not adept at handling the silence that seemed to stop all life around her. Rose, who'd sat through more silence than Lily could even imagine, was accustomed to the silence around them. As she watched Lily beginning to fidget she wondered if the silence was more unnerving, or if it was the fact that it no longer unnerved her.

A few minutes later, Harry ventured into the room, Draco and Astoria trickling behind him. Lily looked up for a moment before she turned away from the three and refocused on Rose. Rose eyed her for a moment before she peered up at her uncle.

"Where did Scorpius go?" Harry asked finally.

"To wait for James or Albus," Lily answered as she turned back to him. She looked at Draco and Astoria for a moment before she turned to her father again. "You should've told him," she accused when it was clear Harry wasn't going to respond.

"Lily, I-" Harry started but stopped himself, knowing he was fighting a battle he could never win. Though Lily understood why the secret was kept from Scorpius, and Harry could see that across his daughter's face, she was forced to agree with Scorpius.

"When will Scorpius be back?" Draco asked and Lily turned to him.

"When James or Albus sends word," Lily answered as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"So we just… wait?" Astoria asked and Lily wanted to roll her eyes and look away, but held her ground steady.

"Yeah, that's how wars work," Lily answered, softening her gaze when Rose touched her shoulder. "We wait for them to come back. There's nothing we can do from here."

"How do you just wait? Not knowing what's happening?"

"Well, I don't just wait. I never wait. The only reason I'm here is because you three can never seem to be the same room with Scorpius without trying to out-parent each other. I'm always on front lines, so waiting for me is not any easier than it is for you."

"I never wanted you to be fighting, Lily," Harry commented but Lily groaned as she turned away from the three.

"That's not your decision. Nor is it even plausible or a realistic of an expectation," she said as she started pacing the length of the room, her back to Harry and Scorpius' parents. "Though if it makes you feel better, I've spent roughly half of the time playing seductress to Christopher Adler because the man has a brain the size of a pixie," Lily exclaimed as she turned back to them. "And since you weren't actually around, I didn't really have any other options."


	38. Chapter 38

Tensions were high in Godric's Hollow as Harry understood the depth of Lily's resentment towards him. Though he knew, and she knew, it was ridiculous to blame him for leaving, he understood why it had affected her so deeply. She'd only been sixteen and had been left parentless. Harry knew he could never forgive himself for that. He'd always swore he would never condemn his children to his parentless fate.

In addition, Lily was under the stress of knowing Scorpius was out near the battle and she had no contact with him until he came back or somebody came with word of him. She was obviously anxious to hear from anybody, but remained silent nonetheless. The silence was broken only when Ethan walked into the room, his wounds bandaged and his arm hanging in a sling. Ron was walking in behind him, and though Rose hadn't meant for her father and lover to meet in the way they had, there wasn't time for her to worry about such trivial things.

"Hugo said he needed the bed space," Ethan commented as he groaned and found a place to sit near Rose. Lily watched the pair in amazement, noting how Rose's eyes had lit up when Ethan so much as brushed her hand. Ron seemed to notice as well since he smiled too when he turned to look at Harry.

"How do you feel?" she asked as she checked the wounds behind his recently changed bandages. Ethan shrugged as Rose looked up at him. Even with the audience in the room, Ethan brushed his lips against Rose's cheek, and it was clear the two had been apart for far too long.

"Like Albus dropped me somewhere on the way out," Ethan commented and Lily let out a dry laugh, earning his stare.

"He probably did," Rose said as she glanced over at Lily but turned back to Ethan when he turned back to her. Only a few more moments passed before the commotion outside became loud enough to hear inside. It was tell tale sign word had come back from the battle site. Hurrying out, Lily leading the way, Rose kept her eye open for James or Edward. Lily was looking for only Scorpius, but would stop at Albus too. Harry wanted either of his sons, Draco and Astoria theirs. Instead, they found only the injured returning, none including the Potter boys and their closest friend. Outside in the commotion, Abigail had joined Lily and Rose.

"James asked for you," one of the passing men mentioned as he looked to Lily, then to Abigail. "One of you. Maybe both."

"Go," Rose said as she reached for the man's broom. She held it to Abigail while Lily retrieved one for herself. Within seconds, both women were on their brooms heading in the opposite direction of where the majority of the people were going. At the speed they were traveling at, they quickly found the battle site, but the battle seemed to have already ended. On the ground, they spotted James, Albus on one side of him, Scorpius on the other. When the two began to lower to the ground, they realized Adler was standing across from the three with a collection of his men behind him as well.

As Lily touched to the ground, she could feel Chris' eyes watching her, but she ignored it as much as she could. She went to Scorpius' side, her hand slipping into his easily, as Abigail went to James' side, though they did not touch.

"You don't have anything left, Adler," James commented, keeping his focus on the men in front of him. Abigail had a way of distracting him. "You don't even have a place to go back to."

"Because you destroyed my family home!" he accused in response, clearly emotional about the losses he'd sustained in just one day.

"Actually, I had nothing to do with that," James replied, his grin in place to purposely annoy him. "That was all Lily."

Adler's gaze had shifted to Lily, but she avoided his gaze. She wasn't comfortable around him with Scorpius near her. She felt Scorpius tighten his grip on her fingers, so she eventually turned her gaze upward at Chris.

"It's astounding how much convincing you need to believe I never actually loved you," Lily commented, though her tone lacked the vicious quality her words had on their own. Chris said nothing in response, and so a tense silence followed as the ex-lovers held each other's stares. Scorpius had looked away from Chris, his eyes focusing on Albus instead.

"You don't have anything left," Lily repeated, her voice still calm.

"So I should just give everything up?"

"You don't have much to give up. The majority of your men are dead, the ones who are injured will be cared for by us if they leave you."

In the silence, James and Albus had started to reach for their wands, but Lily saw the defeat in Chris' eyes. She truly had spent a large portion of her life with him, and she knew him. Realized the exact moment he'd given up. Let everything go. Everything he'd worked for. Everything he'd wanted. Except she saw the sudden change in him as well.

It had happened so quickly, she'd hardly even felt his grasp on her neck and waist. She didn't even know how he'd managed to get her out of Scorpius' grasp. Yet, there she stood, Chris' arm wrapped far too securely around her neck threatening to close off her air supply. His wand jabbed violently into her cheek, his dark eyes looking at James vengefully.

Then, as soon as it had started, it had ended. Christopher Adler slumped to the ground, lifelessly, his body falling away from Lily, his wand bouncing away from his body. The man who had stood on Chris' right looked to James, but both his hands were up, his wand in clear view. He'd casted the killing spell on Christopher Adler from behind. The man hadn't even had a chance, and yet Lily understood why it had been done. She'd lived with him far longer than that man had, and surely even he saw the world Chris wanted as deeply flawed. Unforgiving. Unyielding.

As protective measures, Albus had taken the wand that had killed Adler, but the man had cooperated with the Potters completely so long as they promised he would get a fair trial in their new government system. It was a thought that had never cross James' mind, and yet now it seemed as though something needed to be put into place.

Everyone knew Adler hadn't been the brilliant mind behind his long standing empire. Even the man who'd stood by him for years only to ultimately kill him in the belief life as a murderer under the Potter's system was better than a lackey under Chris'. Yet, James, Albus, Scorpius, and Lily shared that cold feeling that they would never know who truly had put Christopher Adler and his parents before him the positions of power they had reached so quickly. They would never know, they would have to live with that, and take solace in the hope that it would take longer than their lifetime for the same people to come to power again.

"That's it, then?" Rose's voice broke the silence inside the room where she, Edward, and James had planned so many of their battles and movements. They had left Godric's Hollow, though Hugo had remained to continue providing care for the multitude of people who had been injured in that final battle. Instead, they had returned to the old Ministry building.

"That's it," James replied.

"No it's not," Abigail called out and James turned to look at her. "You can't just stop. We need a new Ministry."

"Why? Because the old one was fantastic?" James replied, then realized in an afterthought she was the daughter of the last Minister. "The Ministry was flawed. That was why it collapsed on itself."

"Then start a new one! You can't just leave all these people without something. You already have some beginnings of a new system. You had all these people organized for years."

"We'd need laws. And tons of people."

"You have that at your disposal, James."

"She's right," Lily commented from the other side of the room. James had turned to her.

"We can't make a legal system, Lily," James replied and she narrowed her eyes at him. "We'd have to- You'd have to… We would have to charge you and Albus, and everyone else."

"Then do it," Lily said simply as she jumped off of the edge of the desk where she had been sitting and stepped towards James.

"Lily, no," Scorpius protested immediately, but Lily seemed to just ignore him.

"How would we even go about that?" James asked but Lily only stared at him like he was crazy.

"No, you're right, James. We should just not do anything for the Magical World. Let them all scramble about and figure it out themselves. Who needs structure and government?"

James received her point though he didn't care for the way she had made it.

"We'd need courts and jails," Rose commented. "And what about everyone who's missing?"

James groaned as he threw his head back and focused on the ceiling. He knew what was coming next. Everybody had things they wanted and suddenly he was the only one who could help achieve them. Edward wanted a library, Scorpius Diagon Ally, Lily Hogwarts. Albus had never said what he wanted, but James was fairly certain he'd hear of it at some point in time.

"Small steps, James," Abigail commented as she stepped towards him and put her arms around his shoulders. For a woman who had been so afraid of love, but more afraid of losing it, she had certainly opened up to love in more ways than James had ever expected. Lily had turned to Scorpius, and it was clear the beginnings of an argument were between them. Except Scorpius wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her forehead. They hadn't ever talked about their relationship, and both were aware that at some point they'd have to. Now, with the looming threat of Adler removed, it seemed it didn't really matter. They could have the conversation if they wanted, or they could wait to adjust to their new life. Either way, it didn't seem to matter as much.

Nor did it matter so much for Rose and Ethan, who wouldn't be separated anymore. Albus, too, seemed more at ease and happier in general whenever Kate came wandering into the room requesting his presence for one thing or another.

When the door opened on the far wall, everyone except James turned to see Harry step into the room. He had recovered well since he'd been released from Adler's prison, and had even put on a healthy amount of weight. He first greeted Albus before Lily, but left James alone with Abigail.

"Did Dad go back to Godric Hollow already?" Rose asked and Harry nodded gently before he pulled her in for a hug, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Much of the next few weeks passed the same manner. Some arguments, some agreements, some yelling on James' behalf. But a lot had changed as well. Scorpius had finally adjusted to his parents around Harry, as his parents and Harry had adjusted to each other. Not every problem was solved, but there was no longer pressure to fix all the problems they had. Instead, everything was carefully dealt with one at a time. That, however, was part of the adjustment. Never before had any of the Potters, the Malfoys, the Weasleys, or anybody else the time to deal with the problems of their complicated situations. Now they had plenty.


	39. Afterward: Hugo

The old Ministry building that had been put to use during James' year's long affair had finally gotten the repairs it had needed. The rooms were restored and refurnished, the walls painted a clean white, and tile floors lining every room and hallway. One above ground story was built and the staircases were all restored so that they no longer shook under too much weight or pressure. With the aid of Harry, Ron, Draco and Astoria, as well as their memories of the Ministry building as it had been in its heyday, elevators were magically installed. As one final, last touch, James floated the gold letter sign to the space above the door on the ground floor level, forever marking the building as Hugo's Hospital and Healing Academy.

A few months after the founding of Hugo's Hospital and the official end of the Third Wizarding War, a small explosion had occurred at the site of one of Division's long standing prisons. It seemed a small number of Division forces had not yet conceded to the up and coming control of the Wizarding world lead by James Potter. Hugo's Hospital had over flown with the few number of prisoners still held there, a fair number of James' forces had been injured, and the lowest levels of the Hospital had been designated to hold the opposing forces under strict monitoring. As such, most of Hugo's staff was overloaded with work, so when Kate came running to him, a small boy in tow, only Hugo was available to see to the wounds he'd sustained while playing above ground in the memorial construction site.

He'd successfully managed to calm the child and bandage all his minor cuts and scrapes, before he reprimanded Kate for showing others where the hole in the gate was to get into the construction site. After she promised not to take anyone else there, and not to tell Albus of what had happened while she was under his care, Hugo sat the two on one bed and let them pick candies from his stash. Sooner rather than later, the boy's mother had come rushing into the room, a younger boy by the hand. As simple as that, Hugo had found what all his cousins and his sister had found in the middle of the vast complications of wartime.

Sarah was talented in healing spells and quickly became one of Hugo's top Healers. After the incoming numbers of people interested in becoming Healers or nurses increased beyond what Hugo could handle in the limited space of his hospital, Sarah financed the building of a second building on the other side of the now completed memorial structure. In the structure, James had commissioned a garden bordered with a short white picket fence and overflowing with roses, lilies, and lilacs. On the plate in the front of the garden, he dedicated the garden to his favorite cousin, baby sister, and the sister-in-law he never had. No names were included on the brass plate, but Sarah's Healing Academy was called Bridget's School for Nursing and Healing in honor of the woman she knew had been indescribably close to the extended Potter and Weasley family.

Hugo helped raise Sarah's two young boys, and eventually the pair had their own red-headed children, only one of which had her father's gentle demeanor. She was named Ginny, but her Grandfather and Granduncle often joked her name didn't match her personality. Only her hair and freckles did. Only when Ron and Harry died, within a week of each other, did little Ginny go to the cemetery at the Burrow and discover her namesake's tombstone. Harry had been buried beside her, Ron in an empty row where Hermione would eventually join him years later.


	40. Afterward: Rose

Ethan healed, as Hugo promised, and followed Rose to the top offices of the Republic of Magic founded and run by James Potter, as Ethan promised her he would do. She commissioned the program she had perfected in her thoughts over the course of the war. A database had been created filled with all the names of those who had gone missing, children and adults comprising two separate lists. Slowly, news trickled in of who had died, fled, or disappeared and though not every family got news or closure, Rose saw more happiness brought to families learning of a loved one's death than to those who would never know anything. It was a difficult life pursuit, but she had managed it nonetheless.

As per her promise to her father, she and Ethan tracked down her mother and removed the spell on her memory. Hermione Granger, now aged, was none too happy with what her daughter had done, but could not reprimand her for it either. In the back of her mind, she recalled a specific trip to Australia in which she had done the same thing for the very same reason. She reconnected with her husband happily, but felt survivor's guilt when her best friend hugged her, his wife long dead. They hadn't even said goodbye.

In comparison to all the things James and Lily had done during the war, Rose's life was not extraordinary. At least not to the eyes of the public. To James, Rose was amazing because she had let her only love leave for months at a time never really secure that he would return again. She was always so ready to sacrifice everything in hopes that one day it would not be in vain. To Lily, who was arguably Rose's least supportive family member, Rose was strong. Lily would never admit it to anybody other than Scorpius that Rose was stronger than she was. In Lily's eyes, it was easier to endure Adler's touch, gaze, and spell than to endure the sure defeat she knew would follow Scorpius' death. Of course, Scorpius had not died, and James had not been defeated, but Lily hadn't been strong enough to wait and find out. Similarly, Albus had not been strong enough to stay following Bridget's death. Neither Potter sibling knew that Rose understood despite her constant accusing them of being traitors.

Eventually, Rose and Lily had made peace, but they never spoke of the war again. Never with each other because their conflicting views were sure to start arguments. At Rose's wedding, Lily stood beside her, and Sarah behind Lily. When Rose had her first girl, she had wanted to name her Lily, but ultimately chose another name entirely. She didn't want to name any more children after people they'd lost. She hated saying the names of buildings and people reminiscent of where the name had come from. It came to the point where the past was the past and needed to be left there indefinitely. Rose never told Lily about the naming dilemma, but always regarded Lily as a close friend. Thinking of her as a cousin always lead to trouble.


	41. Afterward: James

**Only two more after this one!**

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><p>It had taken nearly five years for the Republic of Magic to stand completely on its own. In that time, James had accomplished more than he had expected including Rose's project, Hugo and Sarah's joint Hospital and School, the memorial site, and several other projects. He'd built a tall ten floor building for the Republic's Headquarters, one floor for ever department. He made Rose head of the missing person's department, Scorpius head of the agency, a spin on the Auror program from before his time. Edward was still a close friend and helped in any way he could. Eventually James managed to build Edward an official Republic of Magic Library where copies of everything were sorted and preserved including the battle plans of some of the most influential battles of the war they'd lead.<p>

James did not marry when all his siblings and cousins were because Abigail never said yes. Through every rejection, James smiled, laughed, kissed her, and continued with their conversation as though nothing had happened. Before the transformation of the old Ministry building, James and Abigail had cleaned out her father's office and in their home, they displayed all the photos from her childhood. One delicate invaluable photo was preserved not on a wall but in a book that grew as Abigail and James spent more years together. Though photos of all the children they had were included in their family photo album, the first page was forever the photo of her mother and son James had recovered for her during the war. In the building of the Headquarters for the Republic of Magic, James had called one wing Noah's Wing, and whenever asked about it, he attributed the name to the last Minister ever lived, and who had never been found. Only Abigail knew it was for her son named for her father.

As the leader of the new magical world, James was also in charge of the new judicial system, and so a court building was built adjacent to Headquarters. To keep the balance of the new magical world and to avoid accusations of bias decisions, James charged Lily and Albus with one count of disloyalty each. Since he had no say in the court decision or punishment, their fates were left the judges appointed by the masses in the first ever Republic of Magic election. Both were found guilty but sentenced to only probation through close monitoring of their wands. The papers the next day declared it and victory for the two Potter siblings and for the Republic. Their loyalties were never questioned again.

James served as the Director of Magic for thirty years, having been reelected every five years until his retirement. By then, his children were all adults, the youngest at 20. His two sons stood behind him while his three daughters stood across from them while Abigail finally decided to walk the isle. Of course, she had long been wearing James' ring on her finger before then, but something had possessed her actually legitimatize the marriage everyone else had already accepted by then. They were buried side by side in the cemetery at the Burrow.


	42. Afterward: Lily and Scorpius

After her sentencing, Lily helped rebuild Hogwarts like she had always wanted during the war. The towers were all restored as was the Hogwarts Express. She was careful to recreate the school the way it had been built originally, wanting desperately to restore it to the way it had been during her parent's school years. During the first few years of Hogwarts' reopening, Lily and Scorpius jointly ran the school, and Hugo came to help found the hospital wing. By that time, Kate was 10, turning 11, so Albus enrolled her in the incoming class of only thirty students. He joined his sister at Hogwarts and taught whatever classes he could. Considering the school had mainly first years, specialized professors weren't strictly necessary just yet.

As Hogwarts continued, the incoming classes grew and more and more staff was added to help accommodate all the students. After only ten years, Lily and Scorpius resigned from their positions and left the school in the capable hands of the Beauxbatons professors who had volunteered to help continue Hogwarts. During those ten years, Lily had married Scorpius and had since worn Astoria's engagement ring on her finger every day. On their tenth anniversary, Scorpius had surprised her with a new home in Muggle London. When he had taken her there to see it, she knew exactly what it was.

He had found the house he, Lily, and Hugo had stayed in during that long year she never finished her schooling. It was the house she had fallen in love with him in, and he had fixed it up over the last year to ensure it was the way she remembered it. Except he had changed a few things. Instead of the cold hardwood floors, he had put in carpet to accommodate their young children, always falling and one still crawling. Instead of the old dated kitchen, he had installed a new modern kitchen for her to brew her potions and perhaps even occasionally cook a meal in.

Though that small house had meant a lot to Lily, their family had quickly outgrown its three bedrooms and the family relocated to the Malfoy family home. It wasn't quite as grand as Malfoy manor had been years ago, but the sizable house Astoria and Draco had built up had plenty of room. Even more, it was built on the same plot of land, so the children had more than enough room to grow and play on the grounds. Scorpius had made peace with his parents and referred to them as his mother and father, but Harry had never completely left him. Draco knew this, but as his grandchildren grew around him, he didn't care. When he had left his son behind to fight evil, he had never meant to leave the boy parentless. He had wanted nothing more than to raise a good man, and though Draco hadn't been the one to raise him, his son was indeed a good man. Lily had added the Malfoy surname to hers, but kept Potter as well. All their children bore the Malfoy name, and so Draco had very little to complain about in his later years.

Eventually, Draco and Astoria, who were always restless, needed something to do with all their extra time. They joined Hogwarts, Astoria teaching charms, Draco the potions master. Both were definitely happy with how their lives turned out.


	43. Afterward: Albus

**This is the end! But as always, feel free to let me know what you think/thought.**

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><p>Albus, never married, having known love only once, remained at Hogwarts for the rest of his life. He eventually became Headmaster and close friends with the Malfoy Professors. Though Hogwarts had been Lily's project, Albus had become the driving force after Lily had resigned to continue her life with Scorpius.<p>

At 17, Kate was part of the first class to graduate Hogwarts since the war. She was beautiful, smart, and talented. Albus recognized her sister in her, and yet knew Kate was her own person and always would be. At some unknown point in time, Kate had learned all the hard truths kept from her while growing up including the story of her sister. Of course, some part of her had always known how Albus was connected to her, but she always too young to truly understand. After she had grown into adulthood, she recognized Albus for what he was, and asked him to walk her down the isle when she eventually married as her only father figure.

Compared to the figures Kate had looked up to her entire life, she felt as though her life was unimportant and remarkably ordinary. She did nothing to carve herself a place in history. She did nothing notable in life. In fact, she was so normal it almost bothered her. She went to school, she finished. She did an internship with Hugo and learned to be Healer. When she knew that wasn't for her, she left to join the Magical Law Enforcement Team. That wasn't for her either, but she met the man she would marry. They had children and live together happily, but she never had the life she wanted. She didn't understand that all the people she looked up to—Albus, Hugo, Rose, Lily, Scorpius, and James—envied her for the life she had.

Yes, she lost her parents and sister, but other than those loses, she had an extraordinary life each Weasley and Potter had desperately craved. She finished school without the threat of war looming over her schooling. Lily and Hugo didn't even finish and had to be rescued from Hogwarts. She jumped from one occupation to the next never knowing she wanted out of life or what life wanted out of her whereas the Potters and Weasleys never even had that option. They graduated and became fighters for a cause. She found love easily and had a family without even recognizing that all those that had some part in raising her had tremendous difficulty in finding—and keeping—love.

And though Kate was desperately envied, nobody change anything because she was living proof they had all succeeded in achieving what they wanted. No, Lily, Scorpius, Albus, James, Hugo, and Rose would never have the life they fought for, but watching Kate live that life was far more than they could've ever asked for. Truly, she had been their miracle. She had been extraordinary to them even if she could not see it in herself. Of course, she could not see it because she too blinded by their extraordinary accomplishments.


End file.
